Jasmine Isabella Cullen
by hergoldeneyes
Summary: I didn't have a name before today, and now I did. I was Jasmine Isabella Cullen. I finally had a family, a place to call home, a new life. But what if my new family's lives are already over? Could life be any more unreal?
1. Chapter 1

It was another ordinary day at the orphanage. We'd just finished eating our daily bowl of broth and we were cleaning the rooms now. I looked down at the nearly scorched picture in my hands and at my reflection in the mirror beside me. I looked so much like my mother, it was painful. I had the same rose colored cheeks. My mother's skin was tan, and mine was just a bit lighter. My eyes were probably our only large difference. My mom had had heterochromia, so one of her eyes was brown while the other was green. I had my dad's eyes, large, blue-green ones. I was tall, about five foot three and when I smiled—which had probably been once in the past sixteen years—I might've been my mother's twin. I sighed. I never smiled anymore. It didn't feel right to smile with a hole in my heart.

My parents, Lidia and Robert Brandon, died in a terrible fire the day they brought me home from the hospital, I'd survived on account of a firefighter that had gotten me out before it was too late. I'd been here ever since. My parents left no will and there was no one to take me in. My birth certificate had been burnt in the fire so there was no trace of my name or the hospital I'd been born in. I didn't have an identity. All I knew for sure about myself was that my birthday was on November 23rd, so I was turning seventeen in three months.

In other news about my putrid life, all the girls at the orphanage hated me. They called me 'Burn'. I was just picking up a broom to sweep around my bed area when a girl, Samantha, tapped me on the shoulder.

"Hey, Burn," she said mockingly. "A couple just walked in, said they were gonna adopt _today_."

I sighed. I hated adoptions. All these people came in saying one of us was going home with them but no one ever did. All the girls rushed downstairs but I sat on my bed. I refused to face another disappointment.

"Now, Jasper," I heard a trilling voice say from downstairs. "She's here, I just _know_ she is!"

I stared at the wall, stunned.

The voice had been beautiful! Like music. No, better than music. It was…_magical_.

"Alice, if you say she's here, then she's here. We'll find her." It was a deeper voice this time. A male's voice, for sure. Somehow, it was still beautiful.

I had to see the faces these voices belonged to. I stood up and scurried down the hall. I peeked down the stairs at saw the two most inhumanly beautiful people I was sure I'd ever seen.

The woman was short and graceful. Every part of her sparkled in the dim light. She walked—almost danced—up and down the line of orphaned girls asking them each questions and staring at them for moments at a time. She was very pale—almost white; it looked—with butterscotch gold eyes and short, spiked, black hair. She was extremely thin and looked very happy.

The male was also graceful—surprisingly—as he followed behind her every step. The adoring look he gave her told me that they were both very in love with each other. His blonde hair and equally pale skin sparkled in the dim light of the orphanage. He, too, had gold eyes. He was much taller than the woman—Alice, I believed he'd called her—and muscular.

I couldn't take my eyes off of them

Suddenly, the woman named Alice's head snapped up. She saw me staring at her at the top of the stairs and—just as I was about to drop my gaze—she smiled adoringly, like a mother seeing her child for the first time, and motioned for me to come down.

I looked behind me to see if I was the one she was speaking of and she laughed a laugh like bells.

"Yes, Sweetie," she said, motioning for me again with that same, maternal look on her face. "Come here."

I couldn't disobey here, not that I wanted to anyways. I stumbled my way down the stairs, holding onto the railing for support.

"Her!?!" one of the girls—Samantha, probably—scoffed rather loudly.

"What about me, Alice?" another of the girls whined, it sounded like Amy. Alice and the male—Jasper, I recalled—ignored them.

I got to the bottom of the stairs and Alice grabbed my hand gently and pulled me forward through the group of girls.

I probably would've pulled away if I'd remembered how to work my hand muscle. Her skin was _freezing_! Like ice, almost! And _hard_! Her skin was pure, beautiful marble. I found myself wondering if Jasper's was the same…

I got to the front of the girls when she released my hand. She stared at me, not the way she had the other girls, but as if her eyes were warming after every second that passed while she was looking at me. She looked at me the way I imagined my mother would have if she were still alive. Did she really like me so much?

"What is your name?" she asked sweetly.

I wasn't sure what to tell her. I wasn't going to tell her that my name was Burn because…well…it just wasn't.

"I—I'm—" I stuttered. "I'm not sure," I managed to choke out.

She and Jasper continued to just look at me. Their butterscotch eyes stared into my green ones and they smiled. I felt something stretch across my face, something I hadn't felt in a while. I knew a huge smile of excitement and happiness was welling up on my face. Alice turned to face the head mistress, Ms. Frieder.

"This is her," Alice said with beautiful warmth to her voice. Ms. Frieder frowned.

"Well, Mrs. Cullen, there's a lot of things to do. You'd have to make sure she came from a respectable background and, of course you should—"

Jasper held up a finger for her to stop.

"Please, Ms. Frieder, my wife knows that this girl is the one." His voice was like honey. So…so…alluring? No, that wasn't it. I couldn't find the right words. I sighed. I needed better words.

"Er…um…h—he—here," the head Mistress stuttered. She handed them a piece of paper and pens. "F—for the quick adoption." She pointed at a spot on the page. "Sign here, please. You!" she said, pointing at me. "You stay here; the rest of you girls can go upstairs."

There were angry, jealous murmurs behind me as the girls shuffled back up the stairs.

Alice signed the paper quickly then left Jasper to do the pre-adoption talk.

"Hello," she said wrapping me into a gentle hug. "Welcome to the Cullen family."

_Cullen_, I said in my head. Sounded nice. She gave my hand a gentle squeeze and I returned it. She smiled revealing a mouth of snow white, glistening teeth.

"Hello," I said. "Alice."

"Mhm," she laughed. "Hi."

I smiled. She was so bubbly. I loved her already.

"Come now, Alice," said Jasper. "I'm sure the others can't wait to meet our new daughter."

"Daughter," I said—what I thought was—inaudibly to myself. I liked the sound of it.

"Yes," Alice squealed. She was almost childlike. She didn't look less—or more—than twenty, however. Neither did Jasper. They seemed a lot older. If I didn't know better, I'd say they were middle aged. The thought of these two being middle aged almost made me burst into laughter.

"Others?" I inquired suddenly.

"Yes. Our adoptive parents and siblings," Alice responded.

I stopped walking and turned to look at her.

"Adopted?"

"Yes. Our parents died many years ago. We were foster children and Carlisle and Esme just became our parents. Jasper and I met because of them." She blew a kiss to Jasper.

"Ah," I said. "Siblings?"

"Also all adopted. Their parents died as well. Rosalie, Jasper's…er…twin sister, and Emmett and Bella and Edward were much like us. We all met because of Carlisle and Esme. Bella and Edward have a twelve year old girl. Her name is Renesmee…"

She trailed off. There was a lie in her voice. I could tell. I didn't push for more answers though. There was a secret this family had, I was sure of it.

We drove home in Alice's yellow Porshe 911 Turbo. Jasper was at the wheel and I sat on Alice's lap in the passenger seat like a child, though I was a few inches taller than she was.

My eyes darted back and forth of the faces of my new parents. They were so beautiful it almost hurt to see their faces. Why did they choose me? I wasn't the most interesting girl in the world and _certainly_ not the most beautiful. A quick glance at the speedometer stopped my evaluation.

"Oh my GOSH!" I screamed. "Slow DOWN!"

The little needle was inching right over 120 miles per hour in a 40 miles per hour zone.

Alice looked like she was going to die of laughter.

"Relax!" she said through giggles. "We've never been in an accident. We've never even gotten a ticket. Everyone in our family drives like this, none of us have ever had a bad experience when driving. We all like to drive fast."

I stared into her golden eyes. I trusted them. I nodded with a faint smile creeping over my lips. I nestled my head against her cold, stone neck.

"You know," she said. "I was hoping you'd let me name you."

My head snapped up.

"Name?" I asked. That word was barely in my vocabulary. They both laughed at my confused expression.

"Well, yeah," Jasper said turning to look at me. "A small girl as beautiful as you is going to need a name in a family as big as ours."

"Actually," Alice was saying. "I was really hoping you'd like the name I chose. I knew your name the second I saw you."

She passed me the adoption papers and my eyes scanned the page until I saw the line titled "NAME".

"Jasmine Isabella Cullen," I whispered.

"Do you like it?" Alice asked me.

"No." I shook my head.

"Love it?"

I nodded quickly.

Alice and Jasper laughed. Bass and bells.

Jasmine Isabella Cullen.

It was me, it was my name.

I threw my arms around Alice and pecked her on both cheeks. She laughed but I could feel her neck strain a bit away from me. I leaned back wondering what I'd done wrong.

"Nothing," she said with a smile, guessing my question. "I just think I was allergic to something in that orphanage." I sensed a bit of falsehood to her tone but she sneezed very convincingly four times so I backed away from her face a little. She smiled and pressed my head back against her neck. I knew she knew how much I'd wanted to do that.

"I love you," she whispered in my ear.

"I do, too," I said. I was surprised, because it was true. I loved Alice and Jasper already, as if they were my true parents. Mostly because, I thought, now they were. They were the mom and dad I hadn't had my entire life.

The rest of the ride home was quiet besides Alice's velvet voice that was singing to me quietly. Singing the words of a song in a language that sounded like it would be the native tongue of fairies.

I wasn't sure when I drifted to sleep but I did. Alice had to shake me w few times before I woke up.

"Jasmine, Jasmine," she was saying.

"Jasmine, wake up," Jasper said.

"Huh?" I said a bit disarmed. As I saw their faces I gasped. I might've sworn it had all just been a beautiful, beautiful dream. But no, here I was, awake and with two people who already loved me, despite the fact that they had just met me. Two people that I loved too, despite that same fact.

"Jasmine, sweetie, we're home," Alice said nudging me.

"Home," I repeated, softly. Jasper pointed past me to a large lawn with steps that led up to a grand white house. Where _were_ we anyways? I was sure we weren't in Oregon anymore.

"We're just in Forks, Washington," said Jasper, guessing my thoughts.

I didn't know much about Washington, besides the fact that it was one of the rainiest places in the world, and that it was my new home.

"Home!" I said with more volume.

Alice opened the door and carried me just as easily as if I weighed five pounds instead of one hundred and five. She put me on my feet and grabbed my right hand while Jasper grabbed the other.

"Home," I repeated.

I was finally at a place that I could actually call home.


	2. Chapter 2

Jasper, Alice, and I went up the walk and through the door of the large house. How odd. The door was unlocked? Guess they didn't care much about burglars, must have a good security system.

Inside it was empty of people and beautiful. So wide and open. The back wall was replaced with glass and it looked like the front room might've been many rooms at once but the walls were knocked down to create a wide space. There was a large piano on a platform in the middle of the room and the room itself was in light, airy colors. I stared wide mouthed as I took it all in.f

"Carlisle, Esme," Alice called. Her voice was barely more than a whisper but two people came in from the backyard. It was amazing, they were beautiful, too.

"Hello, Alice, Jasper," said the woman who I assumed was Esme. She looked at me. "Is this her, Alice?"

Alice nodded proudly.

"Carlisle, Esme, meet our new daughter. Jasmine Isabella Cullen." Alice looked at me with wide, maternal eyes. I smiled.

"Welcome to the family, Jasmine." Esme came forward and hugged me. Her cold, stone skin wasn't much of a surprise but it still left me stunned.

"Thank you, Mrs. Cullen," I said using the proper courtesy that I'd learned while at the orphanage.

"Please," she said smiling a beautiful smile. "Call me Esme."

I nodded.

"Welcome, dear." Carlisle Cullen took a step toward me and gave me another cold hug. I couldn't remember having felt so loved in my entire life.

"Where are the others?" Jasper asked.

"Ah, they're outside. They were…er…taking pictures in the forest," Esme responded. A lie was in her voice, too, I could tell.

Soon, five more people came in from outside. I stared at them like the mindless idiot I was. Every single person in the Cullen family was devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful.

There was a blonde, graceful woman. She was tall and even more beautiful than Alice—which I hadn't exactly thought was possible. She might've been the most beautiful woman in the world. In fact, she probably was. Her smile was warm and just as beautiful as she was. Her wavy, blonde hair went to the middle of her back like a cascade. I assumed this was Rosalie, Jasper's sister.

The man next to her had one arm around her waist which made me believe he was Emmett. He was tall and muscular—probably the strongest of the bunch. He too had the beauty that seemed to represent the Cullens.

Next to him was a woman with caramel brown hair that went to the middle of her back. She, too, had the inhuman nature that came with this family. She was tall—about 5'4—and had a very warm smile, despite the fact that she was probably ice cold. I figured this was Bella.

The man next to her was devastatingly gorgeous. He had both arms wrapped around Bella and occasionally kissed the top of her head. I knew at that moment that he was Edward Cullen. He had a reddish tint to his hair and a crooked smile that had Bella staring like a ninny. I could tell they really loved each other.

There was a girl in front—she looked about my age—and, from Alice's description, I was sure this was Renesmee. Unlike the others, her skin seemed softer. She had a blush and her brown eyes were the color of milk chocolate. She had curly, textured hair the same color as Edward's and she seemed to glisten subtly. She, too, was beautiful.

They all had the same golden eyes—with the exception of Renesmee—and extremely pale, marble looking skin.

"Hello, Jasmine!" said Renesmee who had walked over to me. She smiled a beautiful smile and gave me a hug that was not nearly as cold as I expected.

"Hello, Renesmee," I said with a smile that was surely not as beautiful as hers.

"Please," she said. "Call me Nessie."

"Nessie," I said nodding toward her.

"Welcome to the family, Jasmine." Edward and Bella had come toward me and Edward was the one who'd welcomed me. He gave me a one armed hug—for he still had one arm around Bella—and stepped back to look at me. "She's even more beautiful than you told us, Alice."

"I agree. You should've warned Rosalie and I that we would have someone's beauty to compete with, Alice." Bella was the one who'd spoken. She shook my hand and pecked my cheeks, she was just as cold as I'd imagined. "I hear Alice named you after me?"

I nodded. Isabella was my middle name, after all.

Did they really think that I was beautiful? I doubted it. They were probably just trying to be nice.

"Thank you, Isabella."

"Bella," she corrected.

"Bella," I said, giving her a quick hug. She patted my back and I stepped back from her.

"Rose?" Alice said. "Meet your new niece."

Rosalie stepped forward with Emmett at her side.

"A pleasure to meet you, Jasmine," she said with a smile.

"Sweet! Alice brought home another member to the Cullen family!" Emmett sounded excited. I guessed Alice had called them all when I fell asleep in the car. I wondered why her voice hadn't awoken me at that time. The birds had always woken me in the morning and Alice's voice was surely much more beautiful.

"It's very nice to meet you all," I said. "I feel very welcome." And I did. Seeing their faces, seeing how easily they'd all accepted me into their family so quickly, I realized how long it had been since I'd honestly felt loved. In fact, I couldn't remember ever having felt loved, not like this anyways.

Dinner that night was amazing. I ate alone—all the others said they'd already eaten—but I ate a lot. They'd laid out fish, soup, salad, bread, and fruit for me. I ate almost all of it. I tried to remember the last time I'd felt full and couldn't. The once daily bowl of broth at the orphanage had never been very filling.

I ate alone but I certainly wasn't sitting alone. All the members of the Cullen family sat at the table and made conversation with me. They shared some of their history with me. Carlisle and Esme told me about adopting Jasper, Rosalie, Alice, Edward, Emmett, and Bella. Renesmee talked a lot to me. She wanted to know about life at the orphanage. When I was finished, the crease in her forehead had deepened to the point where it looked like it was permanently carved into her, and I assumed she didn't like the idea much more than I did.

After dinner, I found myself very sleepy, despite the fact that I'd spent almost the entire ride home asleep in the car.

"Are you tired?" Alice asked.

I nodded.

"Come with me," she motioned for me to follow her up the stairs to the second floor.

"But, I haven't cleaned the table yet," I argued. I hadn't exactly been taught to leave things unclean.

"Oh, don't worry about it. Jasper? Can you clean up the table?"

"Of course," Jasper answered from across the room.

I followed Alice up the stairs. When we were at the top, I looked back down. The table was already cleared and cleaned even though it had only been a few seconds since Alice had made her request. Jasper was fast.

"Good night," I called over my shoulder as I followed Alice down the hall. I heard murmured good nights from downstairs.

Alice led me down the hallway pointing out everyone's rooms.

"And here's your room," Alice said, pausing in the middle of the hall and gesturing toward a white door. She reached for the knob and opened it.

The back wall of the room was glass—the entire backside of the house must be—and the walls were white. The carpet was a cream color and there was a large bed in the middle, much larger than I would need.

"This was your room." It wasn't a question. I could tell.

"Mine and Jasper's," she answered.

"I can't take your room. You need a place to sleep."

Alice looked like she was going to burst into hysterical laughter. I couldn't imagine why.

"Oh, it's no problem!" she assured me. "Jasper and I are moving into an extra room in the house."

She led me to white, wooden, double doors on the side of the room. She opened it to reveal a closet that might have been bigger than the room itself. It was fully stocked with beautiful clothes and shoes for every occasion. I gawked at the scene in front of me.

"For me?" I asked.

She nodded.

"Wow," was all I could say.

"I hope I got the right sizes. I couldn't be exactly sure." She looked like she was going to burst into laughter again.

"I'm sure they're all perfect, Alice," I said. "Thank you."

She smiled.

"Anything for you, Jasmine. You're part of my family now; it was the least I could do."

And I was. I was part of the Cullen family now. I was Jasmine Cullen. I really liked the sound of that.

"Sleep well, Jasmine," she said, leaning forward to hug me and peck my cheek.

I looked up to see Jasper standing in the doorway.

"You didn't think you were going to bed without saying good night to me, did you?" he teased.

I ran toward him and threw my arms around his neck.

"Good night," I said.

"Night, Jasmine," he told me, kissing my head.

Alice and Jasper left the room together, closing the door behind them and I turned toward the closet.

I searched through the hangers of dresses, skirts, pants, shorts, and shirts until I found a comfortable looking pair of sweats. I pulled my hair back into a pony tail with a rubber band I found on the dresser and went to lay on the bed.

It was amazing. The bed was like a cloud to me. I couldn't believe it. No matter how tired I was and no matter how comfortable the bed was, I couldn't sleep.

I had to figure something out. What were the Cullens? I knew they were _something_ obviously. I know it sounds stupid, but I didn't think they were exactly human. That tore it, I was losing my mind. It's not like they couldn't be human, they had to be. But I really doubted it. The Cullens didn't seem human. They seemed…other… They were inhuman in many ways. Their beauty, their voices, their eyes, skin, everything about them was inhumanly perfect.

Somewhere within my evaluation of my new family, I fell deeply asleep and that night, I had a dream that changed my entire perspective on life.


	3. Chapter 3

I woke up in the middle of the night and screamed. It was a shrill, sort of hysterical thing and it sent Alice running into my room just a millisecond later.

"Jasmine!" she screamed. "Jasmine, what's wrong!?"

"I just…I just had a nightmare…"

I wanted to tell Alice my nightmare but she'd probably laugh and think I was insane. I thought I was insane, mostly because…I _believed_ the dream.

In the dream I was lost. I had gone out of the house in search for Alice and Jasper where I had seen them go into the forest. I searched and searched but couldn't find them. Then, I could've sworn I heard my Uncle Edward's voice. I figured Alice and Jasper may be with him. I ran to where I heard more perfect voices—Rosalie, Bella, Emmett, and Renesmee's—until I saw my new family facing away from me, speaking in quiet whispers, so low that I could barely hear. In fact, I really couldn't hear. They may not even have been talking, but perfection like that didn't just fly around with the wind, now did it?

My eyes traced the outline of the family standing there, facing the mountain side until I saw Jasper's tall, muscular figure next to Alice's short and petite body.

"Alice!" I said reaching for her. "Alice, where were you?"

Alice and the Cullens stepped away from each other, revealing eight, lifeless, shredded human bodies.

"Jasper?" I asked, turning toward him. "Jasper…_what happened?_"

It was then that I noticed everyone's eyes were closed. They all smiled—with the exception of Renesmee who was perfectly still—and each revealed a pair of blood red eyes. I stepped back and I could feel my mouth drop in shock. Nessie opened her eyes that were a perfectly normal chocolate brown. I sighed in somewhat-relief. But then, Renesmee Cullen smiled a wide toothy grin at me and I saw that her teeth were stained with human blood.

That was where I'd woken up.

When I snapped back from remembering the terrifying dream, Alice was barely even there anymore. She was staring past me—through me—and into something a lot farther back than the wall behind me.

When _Alice_ seemed to snap back from reality, she seemed extremely panicked…

"JASPER!!" she called sounding extremely frightened.

Jasper came in only a few seconds later.

"Alice!" he said shaking her. "Alice, what is it!?"

He shot a panicked look at me.

"What happened?" he asked—not exactly to me. His voice sounded near tears.

Alice's lips started moving…or I _thought_ they were moving. I couldn't exactly be sure… If they were moving, they were moving much too fast for me to make out anything she was saying. Her words—if they _were_ words—sounded like the soft, soft, soft, soft, _soft _beating of a hummingbird's wings. When she was done—when he lips closed—Jasper stared at her, his face in complete shock.

"Alice…Jasper…" I began hesitantly. I wasn't exactly sure if they were going into shock but it didn't exactly look like they would ever move again. "Would you like to hear my dream?"


	4. Chapter 4

Alice and Jasper's heads shot up. Why did I get the feeling that they both knew what I'd dreamed? If they did, why was Alice acting so distressed? It was the stupidest dream I'd ever had. Alice, Jasper, the Cullens…_vampires_? Impossible. Vampires didn't exist! Everyone knew that! They were just myths! But…I did have a strange feeling that the Cullens were something. I didn't believe they were bad—obviously not—the Cullens were the nicest people I'd ever met. But they weren't normal. They just _couldn't_ be normal. I hadn't noticed I'd started hyperventilating until Alice wrapped her stone arms around me. It was only then that I realized I couldn't feel her heart beat. Maybe she wasn't as distressed as I thought she was, despite the expression on her face.

Suddenly, Alice seemed more composed. As if on cue, so did Jasper.

"What was your dream about, Jasmine?" he asked me.

So I told them.

"Oh, was that it?" asked Alice. She giggled a bit.

"Yeah," I confessed. "I know, it was a bit stupid."

"No, no," Alice assured me. "It's fine. I would've been scared too."

Her face was so sincere, I knew she wasn't lying.

"Yeah, to think that you're living in a house full of evil would've really scared me, too." Jasper rubbed my back. "No worries."

"I hope the others aren't mad at me for waking them," I said.

"No, they're fine with it." Alice's face was stern. "You should…uh…go to sleep now. You need rest."

She leaned forward and kissed my cheek. Jasper pecked my forehead and swept out the door with Alice.

The sunlight woke me up in the morning. The back wall had sunshine pouring through it and into the room.

"Goody! You're up!" Alice was swirling through the door and was on the bed next to me a second later. She hugged me. "Good morning!"

"Morning, Alice," I said, returning the hug.

"Are you hungry?"

"No," I lied. I didn't want to impose but my stomach growled like an angry bull dog. Alice raised one eyebrow.

"Okay, maybe a little hungry," I admitted.

Alice laughed a bell-like laugh and put her hand and mine. She lifted me off the bed and ran me downstairs.

"Where is everyone?" I asked.

"They all went hiking," she replied. "We're all very outdoorsy but Jasper and I stayed behind to be with you." She smiled.

"Where _is_ Jasper?" I asked.

Alice shrugged. "Outside, I suppose. He likes to take pictures of the forest in the mornings…." Her voice trailed off.

"What's for breakfast?" I asked.

"What would you like?" she asked.

That threw me. I had never eaten more than soup—with the exception of last night—so I wasn't sure what a normal response would be.

"Um…I'm not sure," I admitted.

Alice laughed again.

"Do pancakes sound good?"

"Delicious," I said.

Alice went into the kitchen and I took the liberty to look out the large window-slash-back wall.

The forest _did_ look lovely in the morning, I could see why Jasper would've liked to be out there and why the entire Cullen family enjoyed hiking. The entire scene looked beautiful. Then, I saw Rosalie come through the trees and it all became a scene from Cinderella. Behind Rosalie came the rest of my adopted family. Even Renesmee had woken up early to go into the forest with the rest of the family. I hoped they would ask me to come one day. I knew I'd love to…

"Breakfast is ready!" Alice called from the dining room, interrupting my evaluation.

I walked over and sat down. She placed a large plate of food in front of me and I quickly started eating. It was delicious!

"Aren't you going to have any?" I asked when I noticed Alice was just watching me.

"No thanks," she said. "I already ate."

"I assume the other have eaten too?" I asked nodding my head toward the living room. Alice nodded.

"Good morning," said a deep voice.

"Hey, Jazz!" Alice was already up and out of her seat next to me and in Jasper's arms. "How'd the…photography go?"

"It was nice. There were lots of animals out. I got some really good shots."

There was a lie somewhere in the conversation. I just knew. I didn't know _where_ or _how_, though.

Jasper and Alice sat down on both sides of me and we started to talk.

"So," I began. "What's your family like?"

"Well," Alice answered. "Where to begin…"

"How about Rosalie and Emmett?" I suggested.

"Well Rosalie has the most…tenacity out of all of us," said Jasper. "She's really something…"

"Alice said she was your…twin? Right?"

"Yeah, she's really nothing like me though."

"No, actually, I'm a lot better." This was a new voice. A voice coming from the door of the dining room. I looked up to find Rosalie, Emmett, and the entire Cullen family piling into the room.

"Yeah, better at being _pigheaded_," teased Jasper.

"You're just jealous," said Rosalie with a flip of her hair as she took a seat, "that I'm just so much better looking."

Jasper laughed.

"Yeah, I'm really lucky to have her." Emmett put his arm around Rosalie and kissed her cheek.

"Are you and Rosalie married?" I asked. When I realized what I'd said, I bit my tongue. I'd been taught it wasn't polite to press for personal information. Emmett laughed.

"Yeah. Rose made the most beautiful bride. I'll never forget the day I agreed to letting her make me her prisoner."

"I doubt _any_ of us will…" Edward murmured from the left side of the table. He was sitting with one arm wrapped around Bella and the other was hugging Renesmee who was sitting more than willingly in his lap. "I know _I'll_ never forget the day when Bella said she wanted me forever."

"I'm not taking that back, you know," Bella argued as she nudged his shoulder. "It was the best decision I'd ever made. Of course, Charlie would beg to differ." She laughed a musical laugh and everyone joined in.

"Charlie?" I inquired.

"My father," she replied. "Chief Charlie Swan. He's the local police officer. I got married right out of high school and… well… he didn't exactly approve." She laughed again.

"And your mother?" I asked.

"Oh, she and my father are divorced. She lives in Florida with her husband, Phil Dwyer."

"Ah," I said nodding.

"An…er…year later, I had Nessie, my little nudger." She caressed Renesmee's cheek and sighed. "I could swear I'm the luckiest person in the world."

"I feel a lot luckier," Alice argued, playfully. "Jasper changed my life for the better and I'll never regret my decision to be with him for the rest of my…life." I heard Alice's strain on the last word. I couldn't imagine why…

"And Alice is like my personal sun." Jasper hugged her closer. "I couldn't imagine where I'd be without her."

"Carlisle and I have been married for years now." I hadn't noticed Esme until she spoke. "He's made all the difference in my life."

"I could say the same about you." I hadn't noticed Carlisle either. He and Esme were standing behind Alice and Jasper with their arms around each other.

"Wow," I said. "I hope one day I'll be as happy as all of you. Your lives seem like pure, untainted, perfection."

At the end of my sentence, I saw Rosalie's mouth pucker and Edward's face muscles tightened. Something about life had them all uncomfortable. Again, I couldn't even imagine why…

"All done?" Alice asked.

I nodded.

Alice removed the plate from the table and went to the kitchen to wash and put it away. Jasper went behind her and the rest of the Cullens went back into the living room. Esme was the only one who stayed.

"Thank you," she said, holding my hand in hers.

"For what?" I asked.

"For making Alice and Jasper happy," she said. "Alice has really wanted a child for so long and Jasper hates seeing her unhappy. Now that they both have you, I see something new in them. Their eyes have something I've never seen outside Bella's and my own."

"You don't mind that I'm, well, perfectly ordinary?" I simply had to ask. I mean, how did she feel that two of her children were bringing someone who was completely ordinary into their beautiful, inhuman lives? An orphan was basically invading their family! Certainly she had to have some negative feelings toward it. Esme's mouth puckered.

"I'm not quite sure what you mean, Jasmine," she admitted.

"It's just…well…you don't _mind_ that Alice and Jasper are having an orphan intrude your lives?"

Esme laughed.

"Why on _Earth_ would I?" she asked. I treated it as a rhetorical question, mostly because I had too many answers. "You're making them happy and, honestly, I think you're a joy to have around. Jasmine, you're a good person and that's all I'd ever want in my family."

I wasn't sure how she drew so many conclusions from me, but the way her butterscotch eyes—which I was sure were a shade lighter than yesterday—looked into my tainted, blue green eyes, I knew that she was absolutely positive of every word she had just said. Suddenly, I felt loved again. I couldn't control it. I went forward and through my arms around Esme. I heard her gasp and felt the corners of her mouth pull up.

"Thanks…Grandma," I said.

"You are their life now," she said. "Therefore, you are a part of mine."

Who knew how long Alice, Jasper, and the rest of the family had been in the dining room, but I suddenly felt eight more pairs of cold arms wrap around us. Despite the ice-like feeling of the skin, I felt surprisingly warm.

_It's the feeling of love_, my heart and mind informed me.

And it was, this feeling was pure, untainted, untouched, love.


	5. Chapter 5

The rest of that day, I spent with Alice and department stores in Port Angeles.

"Alice, you really don't have to do this," I argued as we sped down t highway at ninety miles an hour in her yellow Porshe 911 Turbo. "You already bought me so many nice clothes and—"

"Ah, ah, ah!" Alice said, butting her finger to my lips. "You're my new daughter so you're going to have to get used to it! Shopping is what I love to do and I simply can_not_ let a daughter of mine wear the same clothes twice!"

I hadn't argued beyond that point. I just smiled and nodded. Shopping always _had_ been something I'd wanted to try but the closest thing we'd had to new clothes at the orphanage had been new scraps added to the skirt of the only dress we'd ever had. They'd give us one patched dress our first day at the orphanage and sewed more patches on as the years went by to form an appropriate length. The beautiful white silk dress I was wearing was a nice change. It was an unnaturally warm day in the Olympic Penninsula so it was safe to wear this knee length dress without freezing to death. It had a high, round neckline with sparkling beaded accents with a matching waistline. And, I have to say, the silver ballet flats were a nice change from no shoes at all.

At the mall, Alice dragged me to—what seemed like—every single store. She would pull things off the racks, hold it up in front of me, and, if she approved, she would sling it over her shoulder. Occasionally, she would pull something in and extra small for herself. After one store, my hands already had six bags and Alice had eleven. After two stores, we made a trip back to the car, put the bags in the back, and went back to shop more. By the end of the day, Alice was as perky and happy as ever, the bags filled every section of the car that Alice and I weren't using up, and I was exhaustingly happy.

When we got home, it was nighttime. The first floor was empty.

"Where is everyone?" I asked Alice. She shrugged.

"Asleep, I suppose," she murmured.

Alice followed me upstairs and into my room. She helped me hang up all my new clothes in my mansion of a closet. When she left, I stayed and admired my new collection of clothing. I picked up my favorite outfit and put it on. I slipped on the garment and looked in the mirror.

It was a metallic, crossover gold top with a slight capped shoulder. The jeans were a dark, navy blue with a boot leg cut.

I knew the outfit was drab compared to the amazing clothes Alice had bought me but this would always be my favorite. My mother wore something exactly like it in the only picture I had of her. I went back into my closet and dug the picture out of my bag. I taped it up to the mirror and compared. The resemblance was excruciatingly painful. I missed the mother I'd barely known so much. I heard Alice coming down the hall so I was quick to wipe away my few tears and put away the picture at the bottom of my bag. When Alice came in, I was sitting on my bed staring at the wall.

"Did you have fun today?" she asked me.

"Tons!" I said giving her a hug.

"You miss your real mom," she said looking at my face. It wasn't a question; she knew I missed my mother. But _how_ did she know? How was Alice so sure? I hadn't mentioned my mom since I'd known her, I was sure of it. I nodded meekly.

"This outfit you're wearing reminds you of her." Another non-question. I nodded, surprised at Alice's knowledge. How did she know so much?

"You're easy to read, sweetie," she said answering my mental question. Alice caressed my cheek softly with the back of her right hand.

I sighed.

"Yes, Alice," I admitted. "I miss her. I just wish I'd known who she was, you know?"

"I know," she sighed.

"Alice… is there something you're not telling me?" I tried to take it back, but it was too late. I hadn't wanted to offend her, but I knew there was something she was holding back. I knew there was a way she seemed to know everything I was feeling, everything I was going to do or was doing. I just had to know.

"Yes," she answered. Alice looked away from me for a second, looking ashamed. I couldn't stand her sad expression. I threw my arms around her in comfort; tears were streaming down my cheeks. I hadn't wanted to offend her. Not Alice, I would never want to hurt Alice.

"Jasmine," she said sobbing tearless sobs. "You're my niece."


	6. Chapter 6

I stared at Alice. I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe. It was just…just…impossible! No! They'd told me I had no family, all my family was dead! They'd told me I'd had one great aunt but that she'd died a long time ago! I started to think of what the wardens—or so I called the owners of the orphanage—had told be about my family.

My mother had no siblings and neither had my father. My grandmother on my father's side, Cynthia, had had a sister—Mary something—but she'd died before she had! Where did Alice come in my family tree? I was waiting for Alice to scream "GOTCHA!" in my face but, looking at her expression, I knew she was a thousand percent serious.

"Alice, you're my…_aunt_?" I had to force the word out.

"Great aunt, technically," she said matter-of-factly.

"_Great_ aunt!?!" I screamed jumping up from the bed. Even more impossible!

"How? _How_, Alice!?! _How_ can you be my great aunt!?! My great grandmother is long dead as are my parents and you're telling me that you're my _great aunt_!?!" This was insane. I wasn't coherent. I didn't know what to think.

"You can't be more than twenty years old, Alice! And—and—and…" Those were the last words I said. The excitement was too much for me. The next thing I saw was darkness.

"Is she coming around, Carlisle?" I heard a familiar voice ask in the darkness.

"She'll open her eyes soon, Jasper," another familiar voice answered. "No doubt she can probably hear us now."

"Jasmine?" I felt a cold hand press to my forehead. "Are you awake?"

I wanted to answer these voices to tell them I was fine, but I couldn't find the muscles to open my mouth or my eyes.

"Wait a go, Alice," a beautiful voice said. The sentence was full of spite; the words were colder than ice. "I bet the Volturi will just be _dying_ to burn us all now."

Now I wanted to find the muscles in my arms to be able to punch the face that this spite came from, I didn't like people insulting Alice.

"You think I was _planning_ to have this happen, Rose?" Alice didn't sound like her usual perky, happy self. The voice was full of venom; it might not have even be Alice at all! "I don't _want_ her damned to this soulless, eternal life! I just wanted to get to know her! She's my _niece_, Rosalie! I simply _had_ to meet her!" Alice started crying tearlessly again, from the sound of it. I tried to find my muscle to be able to sit up and comfort her but my body was still frozen from shock.

"Well, I suppose there's no way to keep this from her now," Rosalie was snickering. "This will be the second time our family has been the source of a human knowing the truth! I doubt the Volturi will stick around to listen this time, Alice! Who cares if Aro treasures you like a gem, he'll destroy you the second they find out!"

"_Stop_ it, Rosalie!" someone screamed. I remembered how to open my eyes in time to see that it had been me.

"_What_ did you say?" Rosalie seemed stunned. Not angry just…stunned.

"I told you to stop it!" I screamed again. "It was _not_ Alice's fault! _I _was the one who suspected. _I_ was the one who asked. _I_ was the one that figured out your big secret! Don't blame it on Alice. So _what_ if Alice is part of my family? What is the big _deal_? No one's gonna kill you for being my aunt, Alice!"

"Jasmine…sweetie…" Bella was trying to tell me something but she, firstly, couldn't find the right words and secondly, Edward put his hand gently over her mouth and Renesmee tugged at her skirt as if to hold her back.

"No," Jasper shook his head. "We promised to be the ones to tell her if or when the time came. Carlisle?" Jasper turned to his adoptive father. "Has the time come?"

Carlisle Cullen sighed.

"I think it has, Jasper." He walked over to his son and placed one hand on his shoulder and one on Alice's. Carlisle and Esme pecked Jazz and Alice's foreheads for encouragement and motioned the rest of the family to go out of the house. They stepped outside one by one and were entering the forest—past the large river and past the large meadow they called a backyard—in less than a blink of an eye.

"Woah!" I screamed. "Alice! How did they do that?"

But Alice stayed frozen in place with her head looking down, her expression ashamed.

"Jasper, did you _see_ that? That was amazing! That was astonishing! That was—that was—" I couldn't think of anything. Again, I needed better words.

Jasper picked me up by the waist and sat me down next to him and Alice on the Cullens' sofa.

"Jasmine, I'm so sorry!" Alice started to sob tearless sobs again. She put her head in her hands and her body shook with the tears she _should_ have been shedding. When she finally looked up, her face was dry but it felt like venom had been injected straight into my heart when Alice looked like that. It was so painful seeing her this way, I couldn't believe it. The look wasn't human anymore.

"For what, Alice, for what?" I asked her. I put my hands around her neck and looked to Jasper for support. He had Alice's same look on his face. I extended my other arm and put it around his neck sealing both of them in a large, awkward hug.

"Jasmine…do you remember the dream you had the other day?" Jasper asked me.

"Why, yes," I said. "The one where you and your family were er—um—"

"Vampires," he said, finishing the sentence for me.

"Right," I mumbled. "But what does that have to do with anything? It's not like you, Alice, Carlisle, Esme, Bella, Edward, Rosalie, Emmett, and—" I forced myself to say the last name "—Renesmee are…are…"

"Jasmine," Alice said more calmly. I could still see the pain it was going to cause her to say what she wanted to say.

_More likely she _doesn't_ want to say it_, I thought

"Jasmine," Alice continued, "we ARE vampires."


	7. Chapter 7

I stared blankly at Alice and Jasper for a second. The next second, I doubled over in laughter.

"What?" Alice demanded stamping her foot and standing up.

"Oh wow!" I said, still laughing. "For a second—I almost—believed you—" I didn't have enough air to keep talking, laughter was using up all my oxygen. I gasped for breath.

"Jasmine, sweetie…" Jasper looked at Alice for a moment, shook his head, and sighed. "Jasmine, we weren't kidding."

"Well, of course you were, Jazz!" I said. "I gave up on make believe when I was little.

Alice shook her head, picked me up again, and sat me down on the couch.

"Jasmine, I was born in 1901. I was turned into a vampire because I was about to be killed. I had premonitions in my human life so I can see the future clearly now. I knew you were my niece, I knew where you were. I saw you in a vision so I went to Mississippi to get you. Jasmine, we're vampires."

I was dumbfounded. I knew this wasn't a joke anymore—not that it ever had been.

"But Nessie!" I screamed. "Nessie, Nessie is normal! Nessie's eyes are normal! They're brown! A perfectly normal, human brown! She can't be a vampire! Alice, _you_ can't be a vampire! You're not evil! You're not bad! You're not a danger to me! You are _not_ a vampire! You don't even have fangs! You—you went out in the day time, you weren't here sleeping in a coffin! Dinner the other day had garlic bread! You see, Jasper, Alice? You are not vampires! I _know_ you don't turn into bats either!"

This time it was Alice and Jasper's turns to laugh. I couldn't believe the laugh attack they went into!

"What is so funny!?" I screamed.

"I'm—sorry—Jasmine," Alice stuttered through giggles.

"Yeah—just the thought of—vampires having fangs—and being afraid of garlic—and burning in the sun—is—_preposterous_!" Jasper exclaimed.

"And Renesmee is a…er…half vampire, Jasmine. Bella gave birth to her when she was still human. Oh, and Nessie is…three years old." Well, that one was unexpected. When the two finally stopped laughing, their expressions became serious.

"And as for not being_ dangerous_, Jasmine, we are." I'd never seen Alice be so serious. "We are a large danger to you, Jasmine. I'm sorry I brought you into this life, I'm sorry I'm putting you in danger of the Volturi, I'm sorry your only options left in life are to be killed or to be damned to immortality!" Alice had started sobbing tearless again.

"The Volturi?" I asked. The name sounded familiar. "Volterra?" I asked.

"Yes," Jasper said putting his arm around Alice. "The Volturi are the closest thing our world has to a royal family. They keep the peace and keep the secret. When Bella found out about the vampire world, the Volturi threatened to kill her if she wasn't turned into a vampire. So here she is, three years later, frozen forever at eighteen. And, Jasmine, when the Volturi find out about you, they might not stay and chat. They might destroy us all and…um…drink from you."

I couldn't move, I couldn't think, I couldn't form a coherent sentence.

Alice's eyes darted from me to the door as if she was waiting for me to run, screaming as I go. I knew I probably _should_ considering everything I'd just found out about my new family, but I wasn't afraid. Not of the Cullens, anyway. The Volturi I was a bit wary of.

"You're not afraid?" Alice said. It sounded like a question but I knew she wasn't asking me. She knew I wasn't afraid, at least now I knew _how_ she knew.

"No," I said. "I'm not. I know you and your family are good, I know you're not bad. None of you would hurt me, I'm sure of that. I'm aware that you _could_ if you wanted to, I suppose, but I don't think you do. I don't think you're the normal type of vampires. I'm sure of it."

"You're right, Jasmine," Jasper said. "We're not."

"We're vegetarians," Alice said. I saw her lips twitch but I didn't get the joke. "Our little inside joke. We only feed off of animals, no humans."

"No humans?" I asked.

"None at all."

I didn't say it out loud, but I felt my relief in the air.

"You're relieved," Jasper said.

"How'd you guess?" I meant it to be a rhetorical question.

"I have an extra ability, much like Alice does. I can sense and manipulate the emotions around me."

"Huh," I said. Suddenly I was very interested. "I wonder what my power will be when I become a vampire. I wonder what it'll feel like to be a vampire. Wait, does every vampire have an extra ability? I doubt it, I think you guys are special. Alice, you can see the future, can you tell me if I'll have a power or not? Oh and I wonder—"

"Jasmine," Alice interrupted, "you're not going to be a vampire. The Volturi doesn't know you know yet—trust me, I checked—so you have a chance to leave now. I think you'd like living with Charlie, Bella's father, maybe. He likes company."

"Alice," I started. "Alice, what do you mean I'm not going to become a vampire? Of course I am! I want to stay with you and Jasper! I love you both! I love Esme, Carlisle, Bella, Edward, Emmett, Nessie, even Rosalie! I love you all! I can't leave you! Why leave when I have the chance to stay with you forever?"

"Jasmine…" Alice argued. "Jasmine, I didn't choose this life. None of us did—well, Bella did, but she was dying when Edward turned her. Aside from Bella, none of us had another choice. We're all damned to this soulless eternal life. Oh, Edward always told me how it felt to have someone you loved wanting this life!" Alice wasn't talking to me anymore. "And I always thought it was so stupid of him not to just turn her already. Now that it's happening to me, I can't take it! I don't want this for you, Jasmine! I don't want you to be part of the living _dead_!" she spat the last word. "I want you to have a _life_, not this!"

"Alice, really, when the time came for you to tell me, did you honestly think I was going to not want this opportunity? That I wouldn't want to stay with you, Jazz, and the Cullens forever? Of course I do!"

Alice mumbled something and I couldn't exactly make out what it was. It sounded like something along the lines of: "I figured you'd be disgusted and run away to someone a lot less dangerous than us."

"Alice, you may be dangerous," I argued, "but I know you're not bad. _None_ of you are. You're all good. I believe that, I believe that to the extent of my soul!"

The word 'soul' seemed to stab Alice in her stopped heart.

"That's just _it,_ Jasmine! Don't you understand? I want you to _keep_ your soul! I want you to _keep_ your heart beating! I want you to _keep_ your chance of going to heaven!"

"What are you _talking_ about, Alice?" I asked. Alice was just shaking her head, so I turned to Jasper. "Jazz, what is she _talking_ about?"

"Vampires are damned, _soulless_ creatures, Jasmine. Neither Alice nor I want that for you. We want you to have a _life_ not some terrible replacement!"

"What about the whole 'keep your chance of going to heaven' thing?"

"Vampires are things that shouldn't exist, Jasmine. We're all bad, we're all evil no matter how good we seem. What we are _is_ evil. If there is an after life for our kind, it belongs in hell, not heaven."

"That. Is. In_sane_!" I screamed at him. "You—you—you and Alice are the nicest people I've ever _met_! How can _either_ of you belong in hell, Jasper?! Carlisle, Esme, Edward, Bella, Renesmee, Emmett, Rosalie, you're all so kind and caring! And _none of you belong in hell_!"

"Maybe so," Alice said. "Maybe us, _ourselves_ don't belong there. But, Jasmine, what we are can't belong in heaven. It just can't."

"Alice, let's just…let's just let this go. You can call the others, I'm fine. I'm not afraid of any of you." And it was true. I wasn't afraid of the Cullens, I simply was not afraid of my family.

"Carlisle, Esme." Alice called. Her voice was the volume of a normal conversation. Still, all the Cullens were in the house and standing behind the couch in a second. They were trying to keep their distance from me, I could tell.

"It's okay, everyone," I assured them. "I'm not afraid of you. I love you all too much." I smiled.

They all relaxed at that news. Rosalie sat down next to Alice and Emmett took the seat next to her. Bella sat down on the floor and rested her head on Alice's knee and Edward sat with one arm around her and Renesmee in her lap. Esme hugged me before she sat down on a chair she had dragged away from the computer and Carlisle stood behind her.

"Jasmine," Rosalie asked me. "Jasmine, do you have any questions?"

"Just a couple," I admitted. Renesmee stood up and sat next to me. She took my hand and squeezed it in encouragement.

"Where do you want to start?" she whispered. With all the questions that were formulating themselves in my head, I could tell that this was going to be a long, interesting night.

* * *

Author's Note: Ah yes, I finally figured out how to do this. So, I recently got a question from someone who wishes to remain anonymous (and I have no clue why) who knows me personally and knows how much music influences my life. She knows that music influences all my writing (poems and stories alike) so she wanted to know if there was a particular song I couldn't stop listening to while I wrote Jasmine's story. In fact there was. Dancing by Elisa was the only song I ever played while writing Jasmine's story from chapter 1-7. Not sure if it influenced the story or not, it might have subconciously. I did find myself, at one point, typing the lyrics to the song instead of words for the story in the middle of chapter 5. Listen to the song and let Elisa's voice take you into a different world, that's what it did for me. Also, someone else asked how far along I was going to go with the story (stand up, Nayeli, you know it was you) and, well, all I'm saying is that I'm so where /near/ the climax even. What's that? You thought Jasmine knowing that they were vampires /was/ the climax? How wrong you were. I'm no where near introducing the climax yet. Or maybe I am. Hey, you don't know me, I'm the craziest person that ever lived. The climax can and will come when you least expect it and I think the chapter name might give it away (yes, I already named the next four hundred chapters or so) And I promise that this will be the longest author's note I ever post...maybe...

You are made of Awesome  
Until next time, April


	8. Chapter 8

"Well," I said after a long moment of silence, "how did your family form?"

"I was first," Carlisle said. "I was living in London and I was a hunter—a _vampire_ hunter. When I discovered a coven of vampires in the sewer, the mob behind me and I attacked. They were faster, however. One of them bit me. I stayed hidden for three days during the painful transformation."

"Painful?" I asked. In movies, the victim was bitten and two seconds later BOOM! they were vampires.

Edward started laughing.

"What?" I groaned.

"Edward can read minds," Alice said. "But don't mind him; Edward's just a natural born smarty pants." Edward flashed a large, mocking grin in her direction.

Oh. So that's why he'd laughed. I wondered if they turned into bats…

Edward went into a rage of laughter. Alice smacked him.

"Stop!" she groaned.

"Okay," Edward said, I could see the effort it took him to keep from laughing.

"Anyway," Carlisle continued, "yes, the transformation from mortal to immortal brings three days of ridiculous pain and suffering. When I realized that I had become, I tried to destroy myself but I had no clue how difficult it would be. As you can see, I didn't succeed." He almost laughed. "I came up with a way to not be the repulsive monster I'd feared in my human life, I fed off of the blood of animals. I called it vegetarianism for vampires." This time, he did laugh.

"Then, how did the rest of the family come to be?" I asked.

"I came next," Edward said. "Carlisle found me in a hospital in Chicago back in 1901. My parents were already dead and I was dying of the Spanish Influenza. There were so many people; no one even noticed when he took me." He smiled. "I was kidnapped and no one paid enough attention to care," he teased. "None at all. I was so offended." He laughed, coughing to hide it. "When I became a vampire, I was reading the minds of mortals and immortals alike. Then, Carlisle introduced me to his ways."

"I saw Esme twice in a hospital, the second time they wheeled her straight to the morgue. She'd…er…_fallen _off of a cliff. Their human hearing was too poor to hear her slowly beating heart."

"He bit me," Esme said. "When I opened my eyes, I saw him. We fell in love and he was the most amazing man I'd ever met."

Carlisle wrapped his arms around Esme.

"And then I found Rosalie in the streets, she also was dying," Carlisle said.

Rosalie sighed a loud, heavy, depressed sigh. I'd never seen someone look so sad.

"I'll spare you the details," she told me. "But I will tell you that I eliminated the problem the second I was able to. I opened my eyes to this new world and I immediately knew I was the most beautiful creature alive." She took a small mirror out of her pocket and gazed at her reflection for a moment before returning to her story. Edward rolled his eyes. "Aside from the once red eyes, I suppose. These new gold ones are _much_ more alluring."

I fought the temptation to roll my eyes like Edward had. Rosalie may be the most beautiful girl alive, but she was also the most pig headed and vain.

"I found Emmett one day," Rosalie continued, "while I was hunting. He was being mauled by a bear and I simply _couldn't _let him die. Something in his face—his eyes to be exact—made me _have_ to save him. The boyishness that looked so out of place on a man's face was extremely attractive to me."

"When Rosalie found me," Emmett said, "I could've sworn I'd died and gone to heaven already. She was beautiful; she had the face I'd always imagined an angel would have. But when I was bitten, it all turned into pure, torturing hell. I couldn't exactly believe I was in hell, only because my angel always stayed with me. I knew it couldn't have been hell if an angel such as my Rose was there." He hugged Rosalie tightly and they kissed.

"Get a room," Edward murmured.

"Get an _island_ for you and Bella, Ed," Emmett said back. His smirk that followed the statement—which I was positive was some kind of inside joke—was completely smug.

"Emmett," Bella said, "I thought we had a deal. Either you shut up or I tell Jasmine how _you_ lost to _me_ in an arm wrestling match. Oops! Looks like I just _did_."

"Bella…" Emmett was standing up.

"And even then," she said. Bella didn't look afraid of Emmett, but I was cringing into the sofa. He looked like a…like a…like a _vampire_. "must I remind you Emmett how many _houses_ you and Rose knocked down?" Bella smiled an evil, sinister smile.

"That is _it_!" Emmett screamed.

"Emm, Emm," Rosalie was saying pulling him down. "Sit down before she says anything else. This is already getting kinda personal."

They all laughed, with the exception of Rosalie and Emmett who were looking pretty pissed off at Bella.

"Where did we leave off?" I said through hysterical laughter. I'm sorry—but it was all too funny.

"After Emmett," Alice said. "Came Jasper and I. Jasper was from the south and I was from Mississippi. A vampire at the asylum changed me when I was about to be killed by _another_ vampire. I opened my eyes and saw my future with Jasper and _our_ future with the Cullens. So, I led Jasper here after we met in Philadelphia in a café."

I stared at Bella.

"Bella is a…complicated story," Edward said. "We met when she was human. Her blood was the most succulent thing I'd ever smelled. We fell in love after some time and, after much pestering, I agreed to change her."

"And you made a lopsided compromise with me," Bella teased. "Remember? The _before_ car, Edward? Did you really think me so fragile that I would need missal-proof glass and four thousand pounds of body armor?"

Edward's expression stayed blank.

"Yes," he said.

Bella's eyes narrowed as she laughed. I knew some kind of mischievous plan for revenge was forming in her head. I wasn't sure why she bothered; Edward probably already knew what it was…

"Wrong," Edward corrected. "Ever since she was human, Bella has been immune to my powers and any other vampire powers that work within the mind."

"The translated meaning of that," Bella said, "is basically that there's some sort of mental problem that went on with me and influenced my special ability. I'm a shield, I can shield anyone's mind from powers outside the shield. It comes in handy."

"So how did you turn into a vampire?" I asked. I noticed my voice was starting to sound like that of a newspaper reporter. Bah, I hated when I did that.

"Part of our compromise," continued Bella, "was that Edward was to turn me into a vampire after I starred in an amazing wedding thrown by Miss Alice over there." Bella pointed at Alice and she beamed. Her eyes sparkled with excitement from a day that might have been a thousand years ago, as far as I was concerned.

"About two years ago, actually," Edward corrected once again.

"Know-it-all," I murmured. He laughed.

"And Renesmee?" I said turning to look at her. "Alice said you were a…half breed?"

Nessie giggled.

"That's right," she said. "Momma gave birth to me when she was still human. I almost killed her because I was too strong." She shook her head in dismay and guilt. "I broke her bones and fed off of her blood to keep myself alive, I didn't realize I was draining her life in the process."

I gasped. "You still…._remember _that far back?"

She nodded.

"Wow." It was all I managed to say.

"The memories of vampires are strong, they remember everything. And I'm more vampire than human so," she shrugged, "I remember it all."

I studied Renesmee's features carefully.

"Your eyes were brown, Bella?" I asked suddenly. I'd meant it to be a mental question.

"Yes," she answered. Looking at her face, I could place the brown eyes perfectly. I knew she'd look beautiful with them.

"Now don't go making that sappy comment I know you were going to make on Jasmine's thoughts, Edward. We've all heard it before." Alice snickered. I'd all but forgotten that she could see the future.

"Fine," he murmured teasingly.

"And, Nessie," I continued, "you're three years old?"

She laughed. "Yup! I'm even younger than you are, Jazzy!"

I laughed too. I liked my new nickname. I also like how Nessie was so proud to admit her real age. Thinking of her as a three year old surprised me. She was a _lot_ more mature than half the girls back at the orphanage put together.

"Jasmine," Edward said, "you're not at _all_ concerned about out diet?"

I shook my head.

_Honestly, Edward_, I said in my head, _it wouldn't matter to me if you fed off of humans _or_ animals. You're still just an amazing family to me._

"Thanks, Jasmine," he told me. "Wow, you sound exactly like Bella when she was human."

"You didn't care either?" I asked her.

"Nope, not at all. Or…not really anyways," Bella admitted. "Surely, Jasmine, you must be a _tad_ bit concerned?"

"I was," I admitted. "But I think Alice and Jasper covered the basics. You're a family of…" I searched for the word Alice had used, "vegetarian vampires, I hear? You only drink animal blood?"

Carlisle nodded. It was then that I remembered he had been the one to come up with the system in the first place.

"That explains the eyes," I murmured. I was sure that traditional vampires _at least_ had the red eyes I'd heard they would. Rubies instead of topazes.

Edward scoffed. "_Traditional_ vampires," he murmured.

Everyone laughed at his comment, including me.

"So," I said through laughter. "Are there any _other_ mythological," I put air quotes around the word, "creatures I should worry about?"

The laughter cut off abruptly and everyone stared at Renesmee.

"Yeah," Nessie said. She wasn't necessarily answering my question with that—I could tell—but I knew there _was_ something else they were going to dump on me. "I doubt we can keep Jacob and his pack away for much longer."

"Pack?" I asked.

"The werewolves," Renesmee responded matter-of-factly.

"Werewolves," I repeated and sighed. "This day is getting _so_ unreal…."


	9. Chapter 9

Renesmee laughed at my dumbfounded expression.

"C'mon!" she said, dragging toward the staircase.

"Don't break my daughter, Nessie!" Alice called with a laugh. I felt relief. Thankfully, Alice wasn't giving up on calling me her daughter. "We'll be….er….hunting." Alice's eyes darted quickly to my face making sure she hadn't frightened me. I felt calm, but I wasn't sure if that was me or Jasper's power working _on_ me.

"Don't worry," Edward called behind his shoulder as he went out into the backyard. "It's you."

Upstairs, Renesmee dragged me to—what Alice had once told me was—Rosalie and Emmett's room. Once inside, she closed the door, grabbed a pink phone, which I assumed was Rosalie's, off of a vanity and placed it on the bed where she sat. Nessie motioned for me to sit by her.

"Are you afraid of werewolves?" she asked me. The question might've sounded silly to anyone who hadn't had my day, but her expression was serious and cautious.

"Are these good werewolves?" I asked. "They won't attack me, will they?"

Renesmee laughed. "Of _course_ not!" she giggled. "I'm sure not Jake, Seth, and even Leah will love you."

"Who are they?" I ventured to ask.

"Well, Jacob Black's sorta my best friend. Werewolves have this thing, like a _literal _type love at first sight, only a lot stronger and sorta different. The love could be parental, friendly, or _love_ love. They call it imprinting. When Jake first saw me, he imprinted. We've become amazing friends ever since. He and Bella took me on my first hunt where I caught a buck _twice_ the size of his, only he hates to admit it."

"And Leah?" The way Nessie had said her name, I didn't think she was liked much by the Cullens.

"Leah Clearwater," she began, "is well…Leah. She can be annoying and mean and she really isn't our greatest fans. And she has major anger management problems. The only reason she's here is because her brother, Seth's here." Then, she looked deep in thought for a moment. "And some other reason that I just _know_ they keep from me. Wish I knew… But anyways, I doubt any of them would hurt my best girl friend." She nudged me.

I noticed there was one person she hadn't explained.

"Who's Seth?" I asked her.

She laughed yet again. "Can't believe I forgot Seth!" she exclaimed. "Seth Clearwater is like the brother you hate to admit you've always wanted. He's hilarious and real nice. He was actually the first one to like us, the vampires, their mortal—or shall I say immortal—enemies. The friendship that sprung up between him and my father before I was born spread throughout the family." She shrugged. "He's a heck of a lot nicer than Leah, I'll tell you that." Nessie laughed.

"Are there only three werewolves in Forks?" I asked. I seemed really interested in the werewolves at this point.

"No," she answered. "Jacob left the original pack which is down in La Push. Sam was being stupid—he wanted me to be destroyed along with my mother!—and Jacob wouldn't hear of it."

"And what did you do when you found out about it?"

"Oh, I didn't know until long after I was born."

"You mean, Bella was still carrying you during all this?"

"Of course!" she said it like it was obvious. "No wolf is allowed to destroy the object of another wolf's imprinting. Anyway, no one had a clue about how I would turn out—if I'd be good or bad—so Sam Uley wanted me destroyed. This, of course, would have meant destroying my mom to get to me. Jacob detested the idea so he left and formed his own pack. He was alone at first but Seth quickly followed. Leah came right after her brother."

"Wow," I said.

"Yeah, it all seemed pretty amazing to me. I can't even _imagine_ if I'd been there…"

There was a long silence. Then, my eyes fell on the phone that was at Nessie's knees.

"What's the phone for?" I asked her.

"Remember how I told you about imprinting?" she asked.

I nodded.

"Well, it's emotionally painful for them to go without seeing the object of their imprinting even for a day. Jake's gone almost a whole week without seeing me and, to be honest, I really miss him too. We just weren't sure if it would be safe to have you and the werewolves here, we wanted them to come once you were prepared. You know, so you wouldn't get freaked out if he had to phase."

"Ah," I said. They did care.

"Nessie," I said, "you know how your mom's a shield and your dad can read minds?"

She nodded.

"Did you get a power like that?"

Renesmee pressed her hand to my neck and suddenly, my mind filled with a memory that wasn't even mine. A memory of Renesmee when she was younger. Next to her was a large, russet brown wolf and to her other side was Bella Cullen.

"Jacob, Bella, and you?" I asked. She nodded and I returned to her memory.

They were in a forest and I watched as Renesmee took down a large buck and started to drink his blood.

"Your first hunt?" I recalled. She laughed and nodded.

It was snowing as I watched as her and Jacob—now back in his human form—argued over whose buck was bigger. She was right, hers had been slightly larger.

When the memory drifted to a close, I stared in awe at Nessie's face. As I half expected she would, Renesmee Carlie Cullen laughed.

"What do you think?" she asked me.

"Astonishing," I replied.

"I can place any memory or any thought into anyone's mind at any time I choose only with my touch." She poked my hand for emphasis and I caught a glimpse of my surprised face in my head. "I can break any shield—like Bella's for example—and I project thoughts instead of reading them like Edward does. Carlisle has a theory—he says that their powers got reversed in me because I can do the exact opposite of what they can.

"Now," she said, "let's give the werewolves a call."

She dialed a number on the phone and I could hear the ringing.

"Hello?" I heard a gruff voice say. Nessie's face brightened up like a child on Christmas morning—not that I'd ever seen such a thing outside of pictures.

"Hey, Jake!" she said enthusiastically.

I let her continue with her conversation without interruptions.

"Yes, yes, Jacob, she knows… She guessed like Bella did… I _told_ you, Jake! Jasmine Isabella Cullen… I know! Isabella had to be in there somewhere, she guessed just like my mom did! … Yes, yes, Jacob, of course you helped her… You know I'll never believe that, no matter how many times you, Bella, and Edward tell me so! … Stop pushing your luck or I'll bite you… I know I'm not venomous, the phrase just makes me laugh because of the irony… Yes, that's why I called, silly! Come, now! … Yes, yes, I want Seth to come too…. Go ahead, bring Leah. Maybe she'll soften up with a human around." Renesmee winked at me and laughed. "All right, Jake, see you in a few!"

"They're coming?" I asked her.

"Oh, they are _definitely_ coming."

Renesmee took my hand and led me back out of Rosalie's room—after putting the phone back—and down the stairs. We flipped through the thousands of channels on the Cullens' Korean television until the rest of the family came back from their hunt. All their eyes were an even lighter shade of gold than I remembered. Their eyes must darken with thirst.

"You _are_ observant, aren't you, Jasmine?" Edward said. I should've known he'd be listening. "You deserve Bella's name somewhere in you, you've made a lot of the inferences that she did."

After some more chatting and flipping through channels, the door bell rang. Renesmee stood up and ran to it, Edward and Bella at her heels. I had no clue how I was able to catch her even turning the knob on the door. They were so fast, their movements blurred in front of my eyes. A whole eighteenth of a second had past when Nessie shouted Jacob's name and threw herself out the door—with and expression that brought out the two year old in her—with her eyes wide open to embrace her werewolf friend. Jacob and Nessie came through the door together. It was amazing how tall he was.

"Nice to finally meet you, Jasmine," he said to me. Jacob put Renesmee down on the floor, shook my hand, and picked her up again. His skin was _hot!_ It might've been 108 degrees! Definitely not a normal temperature. But then again, was _anything_ normal today? No, not really.

"Hey, Jasmine," a female voice called. A statuesque, beautiful, tan woman stepped through the doorway. This—I knew by the way the Cullens eyes her warily and by the way she returned the stares with a look that could kill—was Leah. She stooped down and pecked my cheek. "She _is_ beautiful, Alice!" she said turning to my pixie of a mother. "More adorable than you said." I blushed at this compliment.

"Isn't she?" Alice squealed. Before I might've thought possible, her cold, stone arms were around me and she pecked my forehead.

"Where's Seth?" Edward asked.

"Like you don't know!" someone teased from the outside. Edward laughed. The person's voice sounded kind and beautiful to me. It was the voice of a childish man, a voice I'd never heard before. Listening to the voice that sounded, probably, much more alluring in my ears than anyone else's made me blush and drop my head. I hoped no one had noticed. Why did the voice of this… this _stranger_ give me butterflies in my stomach? Why, I couldn't tell. I just looked up through my eyelashes as Seth Clearwater stepped through the doorway.


	10. Chapter 10

Edward burst into hysterical laughter.

"EDWARD!" I screamed running over to him. I punched his arm which, one: didn't do anything except made him laugh even harder at my attempt and, two: almost broke my hand.

"O_W_!" I screamed rubbing my hand. His skin was just as _hard _as ice. "Ow, ow, oh ow! Ow!"

"You say something and you're a pile of _ashes_, Edward Cullen." Alice was standing behind me with her teeth bared. An evil snarl ripped from her throat. I cringed and Edward laughed even harder.

"I won't say _anything_," he vowed. "I promise."

"Alice," I said turning toward her. "Is he lying?"

Alice giggled. "He won't say anything if you don't want him to."

"All right then," I said nodding.

I had my back turned so I hadn't noticed someone step through the door and come behind me. By the warmth of the touch, I knew it was another werewolf. This was the one I'd heard. I was sure of it. I dropped my gaze and turned to face Seth Clearwater.

"Hey Seth," I said.

"H—hey, Ja—Jasmine," he stuttered.

_**Seth's Point of View**_

"Hey Seth," she said. I couldn't see her face very well and I couldn't see her eyes at all but I knew she was beautiful. She sounded so sweet and innocent. Her voice sounded like melting honey in my ears, I was sure no one else had the same reaction. Maybe I was just being weird. Leah said I did that a lot…

"H—hey, Ja—Jasmine," I stuttered. I might've sworn this would be the girl, the girl I would finally imprint on. But when I saw her, I didn't feel the way Jake had. I didn't feel the way Sam, Quil, or Jared had felt. It was a small spark, that was it. Nothing special. I sighed internally. When would I finally get my turn? Maybe then the guys back at La Push would stop ragging on me.

I wanted this to be the girl. She was perfect in my eyes, everything an angel should be. But did it matter? I didn't want to start dating her, then have to crush her heart when I imprinted on someone who wouldn't _really_ be as good as her, but I would think so anyway. I stared at her, hoping to maybe bring the feel of the imprinting out so that it could see her, but nothing happened.

_**Jasmine's Point of View**_

Edward started to laugh again.

"Shut up, Edward," Seth murmured.

I barely noticed Edward's insane laughter. I was only thinking of the way he'd looked at me. The way Seth looked at me was strange. He looked at me like he honestly thought I was beautiful. I knew I was misinterpreting it.

Edward laughed even harder.

"No, not misinterpreting," he said. He coughed to hide more laughter.

Jasper tugged at Edward's shirt. "I really wish you'd stop that," he said. "Show some respect, will you…"

"I know, Ed!" Alice giggled. "Stop abusing your power!"

"Oh," Edward said, "like _you_ don't!" He flashed a large, toothy grin.

Alice, Edward, and Jasper laughed.

"All right, all right," Alice said to drag the conversation away from her using her premonitions for evil. "Enough with the accusations already."

Jacob laughed. "Ness, you thirsty?"

"Extremely, Jake… I haven't hunted in forever." Renesmee caught sight of my fear widened eyes and laughed. "Don't worry, Jasmine," she assured me. "It's nothing I can't control."

"Let's hunt then," Jacob said. "Coming, Bella, Ed?" he called behind his shoulder.

Edward smiled. "Sure," he said.

Edward, Bella, Nessie, and Jacob headed for the woods. Rosalie smiled at Emmett as she flew up the stairs. She came back half a second later with a TV guide. She threw the thing at Emmett and he cursed and laughed.

"Sit down, Rose, before you throw something at me that I treasure."

"Like you don't worship that stupid TV guide, Emm," she teased.

"Like you don't worship that makeup studio you and Alice call a bathroom." Emmett patted the spot next to him on the couch and Rosalie sat down gladly.

I watched as Alice turned her back on the rest of us—with a quick smile in my direction—and went to the computer. I saw her click a link and she went to an online shopping website. That was _so_ Alice.

I saw Jasper focusing on me and I felt a wave of calmness sweep over me.

"Yes, Jasper, very _subtle_," I said, my eyes narrowing.

Jazz laughed. "I feel your stress coming in humungous waves. It gives me a really queer headache. Now I know how you felt, Alice."

Alice laughed. "And you said I was over exaggerating."

Jasper dragged a chair over to sit by Alice and watched as her eyes quickly examined each outfit on the page, occasionally gasping and clicking on something she liked. Leah just lounged in the farthest corner of the Cullens' couch to watch TV. I could tell she wanted to be as far away as she possible could from Emmett and Rosalie, the vampires.

I was still avoiding his eyes when Seth laughed. "They don't exactly smell very appealing to werewolves. Jake and I just got used to it. Leah refuses to."

"I don't _refuse_ to," Leah retorted. "I simply cannot get used to the stench! I bet you and Jacob just want to show off by holding it in. I don't know how you've gone so long without a single whine! You are _so_ not my brother, Seth!"

And I could tell it might've been true. Leah and Seth seemed like polar opposites, was it even a possibility that they could be related? Leah must be adopted…

Jasper snickered. "Edward says he thinks you're right."

"How did you hear?" I asked. I hadn't heard a whisper.

"Super human powers come in handy," he responded. "Extreme strength, super speed, and amazing hearing are some of the few perks that come with being a vampire."

Jasper, Alice, Emmett, and Rose laughed. Leah humphed and Seth chuckled. I didn't get the joke.

"So, Jasmine," Seth said, "how do you like Forks?"

"It's nice," I responded, still not looking up. I felt his eyes on me but I was too shy to look at them. "Real wet, though. I haven't had much time to see the actual town. I went to Port Angeles with Alice the other day but that's pretty much it."

"Not much sight seeing, huh?"

I shook my head. "No, not really."

"Wow, that must suck," he said.

"Not really, it's nice getting to hang around with the Cullens. They're like the family I've always wanted."

"What happened to your parents?" he asked me.

"They died the day I was born," I said dismally. "I never knew them. The orphanage was my life until Alice and Jasper came for me."

"The orphanage," he said in disbelief. "Wow, what must that be like?"

"Terrible," I answered. "I guess it might've been nicer if I'd had some friends but all the girls despised me." I laughed a bit at the end to soften the sentence. Seth looked at me like I might be insane for finding the orphanage funny. My gaze dropped even lower.

"Alice told me about you, you know," he said. "When she had her vision, one of the first things she did was call us down in La Push. When I heard the news, I was really happy for her and Jazz. Alice had always wanted a child to call her own, to have some sort of bond to her whether maternal or a different family relation.

"When she told us about you, I almost couldn't believe it. She didn't describe you accurately enough, though. All she told me was that you had her same human eye color. She also said you were…sixteen now, right?"

"Right," I said. "I turn seventeen in November." I carefully looked up at him, making sure not to see his eyes. It was stupid of me to think anything of a guy that was probably five years older than me. His boyish voice might have fooled me at first, but Seth was extremely tall and muscular; definitely not the looks of someone around my age. "And how old are you?" I decided to ask. "By your height I'm guessing, what? Twenty!" I giggled a bit at the end.

He laughed too. "No, actually, the wolves genes are pretty fooling aren't they? I have a temperature that means I should be dead, I transform into a mythological creature, and I am twice my normal height. 6 foot 2 inches isn't exactly normal height for a sixteen year old, even if I'm not aging." There were so many questions that popped into my head at that moment. I decided to start with the simplest.

"You're sixteen?" I asked surprised.

He shrugged. "Technically yes. I transformed into a werewolf two years ago when I was fourteen." He laughed again. "The height's pretty deceiving, isn't it?" I only got a glimpse of his smile for fear of blushing from the look in his eyes, but it still dazed me.

The silence that followed was long and nice. It gave me some time to think.

"Jazz," I asked. "Can Edward hear me from here? Hear my thoughts, anyways?"

"No," he said.

"Good," I said. "I'm thinking about the orphanage and I need no comments," I lied. "No comments like Edward's comments, anyways." I was surprised at how convincing I sounded. So convincing that I fooled Jasper _and_ Alice. They both laughed.

"Oh, Edward's not always such a pig head," she said.

"No, that's usually Rose," Jasper murmured. So quickly that I didn't even see it, _someone_ went over to Jasper and knocked him straight out of his seat. I stared at Rosalie's too innocent expression.

"Emmett," she said. "Please tell Jasper that I am _not_ pig headed and that I _do_ care about other people." Jasper and Alice's lips twitched.

"She's not pig headed and she cares for other people…." Emmett murmured. He was barely there, his eyes intent on the game they were passing on the television. That tore it—Alice and Jasper went into a full rage of laughter. I could've sworn I even heard Leah chuckle. Seth almost died of laughter next to me. I giggled like crazy.

"Humph," Rosalie sighed. "You're all just _jealous_!"

"Of _course_ we are, Paris Hilton II," Seth joked.

"Do not _make_ me come over there, Seth Clearwater!" Rosalie said, her eyes full of venom. "And please, Paris Hilton _wishes _she could be me!" And with one toss of her golden hair, she turned her attention back to the TV. Alice, Jasper, and Seth were still roaring with laughter.

When my laughter ended, I returned my attention to my thoughts. How was it possible that people here took sudden likes to me? Alice and Jasper first, then Esme and Carlisle, Bella and Edward, Rosalie and Emmett, then Renesmee, and now the _werewolves_? There is nothing special about me!

"You're wrong you know," Jasper said. "I feel what you're feeling. You _are_ special, Jazzy. You know you are."

"Not yet she doesn't," Alice said. "She'll figure it out eventually, trust me, I would know."

I walked across the room. Everyone seemed to be distracted with something, except for Seth. Well, I suppose Seth was distracted by something, if you counted staring at every step I took as a distraction. Why did he have to look at me that way? It made me just that more confused, despite Jasper's efforts. Yes, I knew he was trying. He was past trying to be subtle now; I could see his body tensing as the seconds went by trying to send me every ounce of calm that he could muster.

I made my way outside and breathed in the fresh air. I walked over to a river and tried to think of how deep it might be. It was definitely too far to jump across. But if I could just see how deep it was, maybe I could walk across it and into the beautiful forest beyond it. I dipped a stick in but the current was too strong, it washed it away.

"Need a ride?" someone asked me.

"That'd be great, Seth!" I said. I turned around—careful to keep my wide eyes down. "But…how are you gonna get across?"

"Wolf, remember?"

"You're gonna phase?" I asked.

"Well, duh! I can't jump ten feet in my human form! Are you afraid of wolves?"

I was sure he meant it as a rhetorical question, but I answered anyway. "Will you eat me?" I asked sarcastically.

"Nah," he said.

I smiled. Finally, I looked up at him but his face was turned away from me. He was looking past the river, past the trees, and beyond the mountains. I knew he was thinking of something.

"I'll be right back," he said. Before I could ask where he was going, Seth was gone. A few seconds later, a large, sandy colored wolf came back in his place. I gasped and Seth barked a laugh.

"What do I do now?" I asked him.

Seth sat down and with his nose pointed to his back. I got on cautiously.

"You won't let me fall, will you?" I asked. I had to admit, the idea of riding on the back of a werewolf through a forest kind of freaked me out.

Seth barked another laugh and rolled his large, wolf eyes.

I fastened my arms gently around Seth's neck and he started running.

The adrenaline was amazing. The wind ripped past me as we went faster and faster. Most people would've closed their eyes by now but I didn't want to miss a second of the passing greenery. When we came to the river, Seth jumped. I didn't feel it, but I knew we'd landed. The forest in front of me was large and green. I jumped off of Seth's back and admired the scene. About a minute later, Seth was behind me again in his human form. Edward, Bella, Renesmee, and Jacob were barely visible to me in the distance as they raced forward. I was too busy focusing on where I was. It was the largest, most beautiful forest I'd ever seen, in fact, it was the _only_ forest I'd ever seen. The four of them raced past Seth and I as if they hadn't even noticed we were there.

Seth and I walked for a while in silence until he formed a question.

"So," he began, "what was life at the orphanage like?"

I sighed. "Where to begin…"

"The beginning is always nice," he joked.

"Well, it's a long story."

"We've got time."

I sat down on a rock next to Seth and got ready for a long and painful conversation.


	11. Chapter 11

"Well," I said after thinking about the orphanage and reliving past, personal hells for a moment. "We barely got fed. They gave us our daily—sometimes weekly, if we misbehaved—bowl of soup. It wasn't even good soup! More like water with rancid rice and chicken." A slow shiver ripped down my spine.

"Ew," Seth commented. He shivered too.

"I know," I agreed. "Very ew-worthy. Too bad it's all we lived off."

"I'm surprised you're not thinner than a stick," Seth said. "With only that to eat, I should say I'm surprised you're still alive!"

"Me too," I agreed. "Some girls _did_ get worse, though. I was lucky; I was allowed to go into the streets much more than most. The first thing I found edible would go into my mouth. I ended up eating a lot of things that _weren't _exactly good for you, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do."

"Where did all of you sleep?" Seth asked me. "I wouldn't be surprised—I'd be disgusted but not exactly surprised—if they made you sleep on the floor!"

I chocked a laugh. "No, no, no. We had beds. If you could call them that. They were more like giant pillow cases stuffed with moth balls.

"We barely slept, though, so I'm not sure why we had 'mattresses' anyway. We were up half the night doing the cleaning that the mistresses were to lazy to do."

"That's…terrible… You should sue," Seth told me.

"I bet I could," I said. "I doubt I could get into court, though."

Seth smiled. "Never underestimate the power of the Cullens. They have ways, Jasmine, they have ways." He chuckled. I found myself laughing with him. The laughter cut off abruptly when he noticed something flying out of my pocket.

"Hey, what's that?" he asked gesturing toward the piece of tattered paper that the wind was blowing away from me.

"No," I grumbled. I stood and raced after the photograph.

The race took me deep into the forest. Must the wind have been so strong today? The flying picture went out of my line of sight eventually. I couldn't believe it. The only picture I had of my parents was gone. I didn't want to cry here, but I couldn't help it. A few tears escaped my eyes before someone held the same picture I was chasing after in front of my eyes.

"This what you were looking for?" Seth asked.

"Yes!" I exclaimed. "Thanks, Seth!" I took the picture out of his hands and looked down at it. The smallest thought of my parents usually put me into hysterics and this time, it didn't fail to do so. I started crying again.

"Hey, hey, hey," Seth said putting his hand on my back. My face was in my hands and, by this time, I was sobbing. "What's wrong, what's wrong?"

"N—nothing," I said. "I'm s—s—sorry."

Seth looked at the picture in my hands. He obviously saw the resemblance between me and my mother and guessed. "Your parents?" he asked me.

I nodded. "That was my mother," I said pointing to her. "I know nothing about her for sure, but I can just tell she was kind."

"She's your mother," Seth told me. "She has to be kind."

"Her name was Lidia Brandon," I told him. "She and my father died in a fire the day they brought me home from the hospital. I was lucky to make it out alive."

"And your father?" he asked.

"I knew he loved my mother, that's for sure." As I said this, I traced the outlines of my parents in front of my old house. They were hugging and my dad was kissing the top of my mother's head. They had to have loved each other a lot.

"Sure looks like it," he said.

A single tear drop fell onto the picture. It landed in the middle of both my parents. My silent tears became full sobs.

"What about your parents?" I managed to choke out.

Seth sighed. "My mom doesn't exactly approve of my friendship with vampires, she thinks it's dangerous. It's almost like she disowned me and kept Leah."

"And your father?"

It took Seth a long time to formulate his answer. "My dad," he began. I could see the pain it was causing him to talk about him. "He died of a heart attack when Leah and I phased. We turned into werewolves so young and it was too much for his frail heart to handle."

"You must really miss him," I said.

"I do," he replied. "It has to be worse for you, though."

"It might be," I said, "in some ways. But if I'd known my parents and grown to love them more than I do, it would've been harder for me to let go."

There was silence as we both thought.

It was almost as if I had Jasper's power at this moment. I could feel Seth's sadness. I could feel his frustration and guilt. I knew he thought it was his fault that his father was dead.

"You're wrong you know," I said quoting Jasper. "It's not your fault your father died. You couldn't help what you were meant to be, Seth. It's not your fault, don't blame yourself."

He sighed. "It's so hard not to blame myself when the accusation makes so much sense. Leah and I were the cause of my father's death. Leah always says I should get over it and move on, but it's difficult. It just seems like it wouldn't have been any different if I'd pulled the trigger myself. Gosh I miss him."

I wasn't sure what to say—I wasn't in Seth's place. I knew what it was like to lose a father, but I didn't know what it was like to lose a father I'd come to know well and love. Neither of us seemed to know what to say, we both weren't in the others exact place. We'd lost parental figures, but it was so different how they'd come to be lost. I sighed. This was making my head hurt.

"I think we should be getting back now," Seth said after a long silence.

"Yeah, it's getting dark," I agreed.

"Be right back, then," he said.

After another minute, Seth came back in his wolf form. I sat on his back without complaining this time and we raced through the forest. I barely cared that I was riding on a werewolf at hundreds of miles an hour through a forest. It was stupid, but I only really cared about the fact that I was with Seth. I felt comfortable around him, around this person I'd just met. I honestly felt like I could trust him with anything. I tightened my arms around his neck a bit as a hug. He barked another laugh.

When we got to the house, I jumped off of his back and went into the house as Seth went in the other direction, back to the forest. I didn't ask why.

"Hey, you," Alice said as she saw me come through the back door. "How was the ride?"

"It was _amazing_, Alice!" I said. "I wish you could feel the adrenaline! It was so fast and—"

"Trust me," Alice said. "I know how it feels."

I smiled and hugged her. Alice's neck strained away from me.

"What?" I complained.

"Well…um…you smell like werewolf," she giggled. "But it's okay, nothing that bad." She hugged me back.

I wondered if I should tell Alice what I was thinking. Edward might've already told her but I didn't care. I knew it was stupid to think so much of Seth already—I mean, I'd just met the guy! But I knew I felt _something_ obviously. I was going to tell Alice. I'd made up my mind.

As soon as my mind had been made up, Alice seemed lost. Her face went blank and she was still as stone. A few seconds later, she snapped back to reality. I knew she'd had a vision. She probably already knew what I was going to say. In fact, I knew she already knew.

"Jasmine," she said. "Can you come upstairs with me for a second?"

"Of _course_, Alice," I said sarcastically.

She led me up the stairs and into my room. She sat on the bed and motioned for me to sit next to her. I did.

"Jasmine," she said. "Jasmine, you like Seth, don't you?"

I sighed. "More than I should, Alice, more than I should…"


	12. Chapter 12

Alice stared at me with wide eyes. They weren't wide with surprise, or worry, or anger. They were wide with…_excitement_.

Alice hugged me.

"Jasmine!" she squealed. "Jazzy, I'm so happy! Do you think he likes you? Well of course he likes you! Who wouldn't like you? A fool, that's who!"

"Whoa, whoa, Alice," I said. "Slow your roll." She stared at me with confused eyes. "I don't think he thinks much of me, Alice. I feel pretty stupid about it myself, I mean, we just met!"

Her eyes became confused. "And?"

"And…well…" I struggled for an angle to argue from but I could find none. "Well…it's just not right!" There, that should do it.

Alice didn't seem fooled. "Oh, Jazzy! I bet I could ask Edward, even Jasper might know if he likes you." I heard Edward cough a laugh from downstairs. I grimaced. "Or, I could just look in your future and see—"

"Alice, you lost me again," I admitted.

Alice didn't even seem to notice I had started talking again. "I know I haven't been able to see werewolves, but I've gotten more attuned to them. Maybe I can see them if they're in their human form…" Alice droned on, becoming more and more excited as her words flew out of her mouth. Soon, she started talking so fast, I couldn't even guess her words.

"And this gives you even more a reason to stay human, Jasmine! You can live your life now! We'll visit, I promise!"

"Alice, Alice, Alice," I said, trying to calm her again. She was going way overboard. "Alice, he might not like me like that. In fact, I'm almost sure he doesn't."

"Denial," Alice murmured. I ignored her.

"Anyways, Seth said he's been sixteen since his transformation which was years ago! He can live forever, Alice! That is, if he likes me which, again, he doesn't."

Alice rolled her eyes. "Jasmine, they _can_ keep aging, you know. If they stop phasing, they can start growing old again."

I sighed. "If he does like me, he'll keep phasing to be with me. And, again, he _does not like me, Alice. Let it go._"

Alice giggled. "Yes he does," she sang.

I covered my ears childishly as she droned on and on and on with her little fancies.

Then, Alice cut off abruptly. Her face became worried and the space between her eyebrows creased. She looked deep in thought.

"Oh, _no_!" Alice screamed. She shook her head rapidly. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, _no_!"

"What?" I asked.

Alice ignored me and continued to fret over something I wasn't sure of.

"Jasmine," she said. "It may not work out with Seth…"

I sighed. "That was what I've been trying to tell _you_!!"

"No, Jazzy, don't you get it!?" she said shaking me. "He could imprint on someone else. He'd love _her_, Jasmine, not you…" She shook her head more.

I froze. I had to admit, I hadn't exactly doubted the fact that me might like me, I just doubted the fact that it was _right_ for him to like me. He was Seth: tall, kind, caring, comforting. And I was just…Jasmine. There was nothing special at all about me, no matter _what_ Jasper and Alice said. The fact that Seth would imprint one day did bother me…just a little bit. Only because I liked him, though. I _wanted_ Seth to find someone, I _wanted_ him to live a good life. If I wasn't the one that could give him that, then so be it.

"Alice," I said. "Alice, I really just want to be alone right now. Tell Edward to keep out of my head for the next few hours, I'm too messed up to think clearly right now."

Alice smiled an apologetic smile. She gave me a tight hug and swept out the door closing it behind her. I sat at the window seat and stared up at the moon.

I sighed a loud sigh as I remembered my day. First, I pass out. Second, I find out that my new family is really a coven of vegetarian vampires. And now, I like a guy I just met for reasons I can't understand. Not a guy, even! A werewolf. I couldn't _believe_ how unreal my life had become. I'd take it, though. I loved my new family too much to leave them all behind; I liked the werewolves too much to run away, I was too attached to Seth to never see him again. After much evaluating, I fell into a deep, well deserved sleep.

I woke up abruptly in the morning.

"Finally!" someone screamed.

I wiped my eyes. "How long was I asleep, Bella?"

Bella chuckled. "Fourteen hours."

"_Fourteen hours_?" My eyes widened and Bella laughed again.

"You deserved more," she said. "You had a long day yesterday."

"You heard, huh…"

"Just a little," she admitted. "Like when Alice lost it…"

I laughed a hysterical laugh. I noticed I was on the bed instead of the window seat.

"Not sure who moved you," Bella said. "I walked by here once and you were over there." She pointed to the window seat. "Next thing I know, you were here." Bella leaned forward and sniffed my shoulder.

"Huh," she said. "So _that's_ who…"

"What?" I smelled my clothes but there was nothing unusual about the smell. Not to my nose, anyway.

"Nothing," she said.

"Are the werewolves still here?" I asked.

Bella smiled and nodded. "Jake can't stay away from Nessie for long. Then there's Leah who won't leave until Seth does and Seth doesn't look like he's leaving very soon." She laughed.

"I guess I should go downstairs, say good morning to everyone."

"Good evening," she corrected me. "It's six o'clock, Jasmine."

"Wow," I said.

"Actually," Bella said after a while. "The others wanted to let you sleep but I wanted to talk to you about something."

I straightened up. "About what, Bella?"

"Mortality," she said.


	13. Chapter 13

"Mortality?" I asked her. "What about it?"

"_Your_ mortality, to be more specific," Bella said.

"Well, what about my mortality?"

"Jasmine," Bella began, "I know how it feels to want to be part of the immortal world and being told no. Trust me, I went through almost three years of it and the whole thing went beyond ridiculous. It was almost like, it was decided that I would be a vampire but the arguments Edward and I got into afterwards were just for show. I couldn't stand it, I remember being up night after night arguing with him about it until he agreed to.

"But when the day was close for me to turn into one of the living dead, I was scared. I couldn't take the pressure. What I wanted was what I feared. I remember even asking Edward for another year, just to be able to go to college. Then Renesmee came along and I couldn't get rid of her. As soon as I knew about my little nudger, I just had to keep her. I wanted the feel of being a mother, something I'd never thought twice of.

"I never realized how much I was giving up, never understood _why_ Edward was so caught up in the little things about being human. I thought they were all ridiculous. Prom was one of the many things he made me do before my heartbeats ceased to be." She laughed at the human memory.

"So what you're saying is…?" I asked her. I wasn't sure if she was all for me becoming one of them or if she was gonna go all Edward on me and say that I should think about this.

"What I'm saying is, Jasmine," she said, "you need to think about this."

I knew it.

"I always questioned Edward and why he wanted me to think it through. I knew I wanted to be part of the Cullens. I wanted Alice, my eternal shopping buddy, Emmett, the brother I never had, Rosalie even. And I knew I wanted Edward forever. But, Jasmine, you have a lot more to give up. I didn't even have to give up seeing my human family and friend; my self control is a lot better than most of the Cullens'." She said it proudly.

"I _have_ no family to give up, Bella," I murmured. "I only have family to gain. And my family is all vampires," I reminded her.

"You have more to give up than you're saying, Jasmine. By me becoming a vampire, I was gaining the love of my life. If you turn into a vampire, what'll happen to Seth?"

After realizing what she'd said, Bella clamped her right hand over her mouth. She murmured something that sounded like "Shoot. I promised Alice I wouldn't say anything…" Bella looked to me to see if she was forgiven. I gave her a strained smile and a nod to tell her it was all right.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"No, no, Bella," I assured her. "Don't be sorry." I strained another smile to comfort her.

"Well," she said after a long silence. "What a direction this conversation has taken! I come in here to tell you that if no one will bite you, I will and now, I've completely changed positions!"

I gasped. I felt so betrayed.

"So…you won't bite me?"

"Oh, well, think it through, Jazzy. I don't want you giving up mortality because of me, really. Besides, Alice and Jasper are already gonna burn me when they find out I'm telling you this, I don't need to give them more of a reason to." Bella laughed.

"So…only when I think about it?"

"Only when you think about it," she agreed.

"I'll think about it, Bella. I promise I will."

"Let's hope you stick to that," she said.

"I will," I vowed.

Bella smiled. "Now come here and give your aunty Bella a hug." She extended her arms and I went over to her and threw my arms around her neck. I pressed my lips to her ear.

"Thanks, Bella," I said.

"You're welcome." She giggled. "Now, can you get off of me because you still smell—"

"Like werewolf," I finished for her.

"Mmm…" She was trying hard not to complain. "Yeah."

"It's okay," I said. "I get that a lot."

"Fabulous," Bella murmured.

"What?" I asked.

"Nessie brought home a pet…" she said. "Renesmee Carlie Cullen I do _not_ want that cub inside the house! Esme's going to be very angry if it gets stains on her new carpet!"

"But _momma_!" I heard a whiney voice say from downstairs.

Bella laughed. "Nessie, get that animal out of the house or I'm calling your father!"

We waited for a second or two until Bella smiled.

"The cub's outside again," she said nodding.

I laughed. "Great?"

"Great," she confirmed. Bella pulled me off the bed and pushed me toward the closet. "Jasmine, please change. Those clothes reek of wolf."

I chuckled. "I thought you'd gotten used to the smell," I teased.

"Just because I got used to it doesn't mean it doesn't smell the same," she answered.

I laughed and Bella left my room. Inside my closet, I picked a random outfit and headed to the bathroom. Maybe if I took a shower, no one would complain. I'd smell human and that didn't seem to bother anyone.

The showed unknotted the tightened muscles in my back and washed away my thoughts. When I got out, I felt calm again. It was then that I noticed I'd gotten the outfit that looked like my mother's. I unfolded the already crumpled picture and laid it down in front of me. I found it funny how it didn't make me cry anymore. The picture of my parents actually gave me happiness now. I couldn't fathom why. Maybe I'd needed to talk to someone about it. Or maybe Seth just had a calming affect that Jasper couldn't give me. I looked at the picture again and smiled a real smile. My parents had gone to heaven together, which made me smile even more.

I stepped out of the steaming hot bathroom and headed down the stairs.

"Morning, everyone," I said as I took in the Cullens and the werewolves in the living room.

"Good _evening_, Sleeping Beauty," Seth greeted me. I laughed.

"Hey, she had a long day yesterday," Bella said in my defense. She winked at me and I smiled. "Cut her some slack."

"Fine," Leah said. "But next time, I eat your breakfast."

Alice brought in a plate of something that smelled delicious. I had no clue what it was but I knew I would eat it gladly.

"Better than water and rancid chicken, no?" Seth teased.

"Way better," I said. I took a big bite of the soft bread Alice put in my lap and stifled a groan. It tasted so good, all this food.

The rest of the morning continued with some chatter. Some about me, some about the Cullens, the werewolves, my mortality slipped in there by accident but Bella covered it up before anyone really noticed. After an hour or so, I could tell Alice was having another vision. When she snapped back, she did something too fast for me to see, said something too fast for me to hear. I knew she'd spoken to Renesmee because she's the one that spoke.

"Hey, Jazzy," Nessie said. "Up for a shopping trip?"

"Yeah, Jasmine," Rosalie chimed in. "It'll be fun."

"Sounds great, just us girls," Bella added. "Up for it, Leah?"

"Nah," Leah resisted. "I don't go on shopping trips with bloodsuckers and leechlovers." She winked at me when she said the last part to make sure I knew she was joking. I tried to smile and she laughed at my grimace.

"Shut up, Leah," Seth and Jacob murmured at the same time.

"It's settled then," Alice said. "We'll take the Ferrari. That okay with you, Rose?"

"Sure that's fine, Alice."

The next thing I knew, I was in a shiny red car and Alice was putting it in drive.

"Yes, Alice, of course I'd love to come," I said sarcastically. "Thanks for asking."

Rosalie rolled her eyes. "You know you want to," she said.

"True," I admitted.

Before we were on the road for a minute, Alice was already speeding down the highway at 108 mph in a 40 mph zone.


	14. Chapter 14

"Where are we going anyway, Alice?" I asked her.

"We're headed toward Olympia," Rosalie responded.

"What brought this on, anyway?" I asked.

"Alice had a vision that you were going to start having to wear your outfits twice in about a week," Renesmee told me.

I didn't argue beyond that point. I knew that Alice was against doing so and she'd made me promise to stop complaining. I waited patiently as the needle on the car's speedometer inched closer to 140 every second. It didn't take more than fifteen minutes to reach what Alice said was our destination.

"Oh!" Alice exclaimed as she pointed toward a large department store. "That's where it is!"

I had a feeling everyone knew what 'it' was. Everyone except for me, of course.

Renesmee grabbed my hand and towed me after the rest of the Cullen girls. The inside of the store was huge and there were racks of clothes everywhere. This must be Alice's haven.

"It should be right…around…here!" Alice grabbed something off of a rack quickly—too quickly—and threw it into my hands. I didn't have a chance to even look at the garment before Renesmee shut me up in a dressing room.

"Try it on," she ordered from the outside. "Tell me if you need help with the zipper."

I turned away from the mirror and stepped into the dress. Somehow, I managed to get the zipper all the way up and—oh and behold—it was a perfect fit. I turned to face my reflection and gasped as I took in the beautiful, flowing dress.

The color was what shocked me the most. It was somehow the exact color of my eyes. The dress was strapless silk, knee length, with a ruffled bust and an intricate, thickly, sparkly embroidered gold waistband. And, of course, it was beautiful.

"Jasmine, I know it's on you so come out here and show it to me!" Alice called. I giggled and stepped outside the dressing room. Everyone but Alice—who, I assumed, already knew how I looked in the dress—gasped. Rosalie and Bella stepped back to get a better look at me while Alice and Nessie clapped.

"Isn't that a sight to see," Rosalie said. "You look amazing, Jazzy!"

"You think?" I asked her. "I really like it. I just have absolutely no clue where I'll wear it!"

Alice and Bella exchanged a significant glance but I didn't care. I was too caught up in my question. I shouldn't have Alice but me something I'd never wear!

"Oh, you can figure that out later!" Alice said.

"Yeah, Jazzy, you just _have_ to get it!" Renesmee said. "Who cares if there isn't anywhere you can wear it _now_, you will wear it one day! Right, Alice?"

Alice saw the future for a moment and turned to look at me. "Yeah, one day. No clue who you're with, though. Seems like you're talking to someone, but it might just be that you'll be talking to yourself."

"Where am I wearing it?" I asked. Surely Alice could tell me that.

"Hm…looks like…like you're on a beach? I can only wonder at this point. My visions don't give me specifics." I heard a lie in her voice but I really didn't want to know what she was up to. I'd find out eventually, anyway.

"Now," Rosalie said. "Go take that off so we can keep shopping." She pushed me gently into the dressing room.

I took off the dress and started to change into my jeans and shirt.

"Hey, Rose," I heard Bella say. "Is there a reason why you were so hostile with _me_ when I found out the secret? Jasmine's doing the same thing I did!"

"I've gotten better with the hostility thing, Bella," Rosalie teased.

"Better," Bella scoffed. "Yes, Rosalie, you've been doing a _lot_ better with it." I imagined her rolling her eyes and, as if on cue, Rosalie laughed at Bella.

"Shut up!" Rosalie laughed.

I put the dress back on the hanger as I listened in on Bella and Rosalie's bickering. I almost laughed, too. The second I stepped out of the dressing room, Alice took the dress out of my hands, swung it over her shoulder, and grabbed my wrist towing me to the shoe section.

Alice sat me down on a chair and put her purse beside me.

"Stay here," she instructed. Before I could protest, she, Bella, Rosalie, and Nessie were off to find shoes. Every once in a while, one of them would come and order me to try on a pair. They'd stay until both the shoes were on my feet then decide whether or not they were worth the buy.

"Here, Jazzy," Renesmee said handing me a box with the lid on it. "Try these."

Nessie settled into a chair next to me to watch me try on the shoes. I lifted the lid and saw a beautiful pair of ballet flats that were the same exact color of the embroidery on my dress. There was a small bow on it of the same color. I looked up at Renesmee with a smile on my face and she returned the smile.

"They're perfect," I declared.

"Aren't they?" Renesmee said.

"I knew you were going to get to them before I did, Nessie!" Alice said coming up to Renesmee. "You're a fast little thing, aren't you?"

"The fastest," Nessie said sarcastically.

"Ma'am, here is your size 5," a woman who worked at the store said to Alice. Her nametag identified her as Elisa Gonzala.

"Thanks!" Alice said taking the box from Elisa's hands. Elisa walked away and Alice put the box into my hands.

"Another pair?" I asked her.

Alice giggled and nodded. I sighed and took the top off of the box.

"You realize I'm going to kill myself in these, right?" I asked her.

"Alice!" Bella groaned. "Alice, don't treat her like you did me! How many times must I tell you? _It is impossible for most girls to walk in six and a half inch heels_!"

"Oh, Bella!" Alice laughed. "I'm sure Jasmine has better coordination than you did! She doesn't trip over nothing."

Bella's eyes narrowed. "Say that once more and you're a pile of ashes," she threatened.

"Come now, Bella, it was all in good fun," Rosalie said coming up behind her.

"Hmph…" Bella couldn't find a way to argue.

The rest of the day flew by. We spent thousands of dollars on clothes for each of us. I was overwhelmed by our girls' day out. It was six o'clock when Alice, Bella, and Rosalie dropped Nessie and me off at a café while they were going for more shopping.

"Have fun!" I called as the three of them sped down the street.

"C'mon!" Renesmee pulled me out of the slight drizzle and into the dry café.

Inside, Nessie and I stood in line to get something to eat. I know, it surprised me too.

"You're going to _eat_?" I whispered to her.

Renesmee nodded.

"_How_?"

"I'm only _half_ vampire, Jazzy," she explained to me. "I can eat human food or drink blood. Though I usually prefer the latter, food tastes just fine to me."

I stopped with the questioning there. Renesmee ordered two muffins and two lattes. When we got what we ordered, she pointed out an empty seat in the back and we sat down. I tried my first muffin and my first latte—they were delicious.

"What was that that Seth said about rancid chicken and water?" Renesmee asked me as she took a bite of her muffin.

"That was what they gave us to eat at the orphanage," I said.

"Gross!" she exclaimed. "I can't imagine having to eat that thrice a day!"

"Can you imagine having to eat it once a day or week?" I sighed.

Nessie's jaw dropped. "That's _all_ they fed you?"

I nodded.

"Ugh, that disgusts me," she said shaking her head.

"You'd get used to it over the course of fifteen years," I joked.

Renesmee's lips puckered. "No I wouldn't."

We laughed together at her statement for a moment. I had no clue _why_ it sounded so funny to us, it just did.

"I'm glad I finally have a sister," Renesmee said suddenly. Neither of us had spoken for a moment and I was surprised at her words.

"What do you mean?" I asked leaning across the small table.

Nessie sighed. "I see how Bella, Alice, and Rosalie interact. They seem to have a closer bond than friends and even though they're not related, they're closer than most sisters I've seen. They _are_ sisters to each other, I suppose. I'm with them a lot and I have feelings of immense friendship with them but I've always been envious of the sisterhood they share. I know they try to include me as much as possible, but I've always wanted to know what it feels like to have someone be closer than a sister. And now, I know how it feels because I have you, Jasmine. You're the sister I always wanted. I love you as if you were my own blood, if you'll excuse my choice of words." She smiled. "I love the feeling of sisterhood. It's more amazing than I had ever imagined."

"You're a sister to me too, Nessie," I whispered. She smiled at me and I returned the favor.

That's how we continued the evening. Renesmee and I chatted like the best friends (and sisters!) that we were. I loved how comfortable she was with me. There was one thing that finally started nagging at me. Eventually, I just had to ask.

"Nessie," I asked. "Why did Alice just _have_ to buy me that dress?" I wasn't sure why I needed the answer to this question, I just knew I needed it.

Renesmee sighed. "Alice is going to kill me for this…" she murmured.

"Nessie, you don't _have_ to tell me," I assured her. "It's just curiosity. It's not like I can't live without the answer." I smiled.

"No, no," she argued. "I'm not sure _why_ Alice didn't want to tell you, I thought it was stupid of her. Not like it's anything bad. I'm sure Alice was just being stupid."

"So…she's going to kill you but you're going to tell me anyways?" I checked.

"Uh huh." She nodded. "She had this vision of you on a beach, like she said. Alice used to not be able to see werewolves, and she still can't…not when they're in their wolf form, anyway. She's gotten so attuned to them that she can see them at least while they're human. You were on the La Push reservation beach with—" Nessie stopped. "Oh great." She rolled her eyes. "Fabulous…"

"What?" I asked.

She nodded her head toward the door of the café and I saw Alice with a grave, mean expression in the car with Bella and Rosalie laughing at her. She motioned for us to come outside.

"She's being so stupid about this," Renesmee complained. "I don't see why you shouldn't kn—" Alice honked her horn before Nessie could continue. Renesmee grabbed my hand and tugged me out of the café. I hadn't noticed how much the rain had picked up until we were outside. Nessie and I got into the back seat and we went through two minutes of silence before Alice spoke.

"I guess I was being stupid about it, Nessie," Alice said. "Jasmine, really it isn't anything bad. I guess I just wanted it to be a surprise. No point in keeping it from you now, though." Alice shrugged. "So yeah, in about a month or so, you'll be in that dress on the beach with Seth."


	15. Chapter 15

My eyes narrowed and I grimaced. Alice looked back at me for half a second then looked away.

"Sorry," she murmured. Rosalie and Bella's lips had been pressed together since Alice had said Seth's name and now they howled in laughter. I saw Renesmee trying really hard not to laugh—I knew she didn't want to get on my bad side right not—but it honestly looked like it was painful for her to hold back her hysterics.

"Go ahead," I grumbled. As soon as the last syllable was out of my mouth, Nessie joined Bella and Rose in their laughter. Only Alice and I remained silent.

When their laughter finally died down, they were gasping for the breath they didn't need. Normal human reaction, I thought. They had to be pro at being human in order to blend in so it might've become a reflex to do so.

"Alice," I said when the car turned absolutely silent, "how many times must I tell you—"

"_He doesn't like me_," Alice mimicked. My eyes narrowed until I was sure they were but two slits on my face.

The car came to an abrupt halt in the middle of an empty seat. Alice had stomped on the brake just seconds before the future flashed before her eyes. When she snapped back, her face was whiter than usual.

"Alice!" Bella screamed. "Alice, Alice what is it!?"

"The Volturi," Alice said barely intelligible.

Bella's face went blank. Rosalie and Nessie stared at Alice with wide, confused eyes. I didn't know much about the Volturi, Alice had only explained them a bit after I recovered from being passed out, but I knew they were bad. I could just tell by the way Alice had said their name with such venom in her voice.

"The Volturi," Nessie whispered solemnly. "Why, Alice?! Why are they coming!?"

"Oh, they're not coming," Alice whispered just loud enough for me to hear. "We're going to Volterra."

Rosalie gasped. "Why? Why are we going there, Alice?"

"Aro knows how to abuse my gift," Alice answered. "He knew that as soon as their decision was set to ask us to go, I would see it."

"Why do they need to see us so badly? Can't they just leave us in peace?" Bella hollered.

Renesmee grabbed my arm. "They didn't find out about Jasmine…did they, Alice?"

Alice shook her head rapidly. There was some relief in the air but we all remained tense. If the Volturi didn't need to see the Cullens because of my knowledge, then why was it so important?

"They want to check on Renesmee," Alice said.

Bella froze at the name of her daughter. Rosalie's eyes became piercing daggers. Renesmee clutched my arm and I clutched her.

"Why?!" I screamed suddenly. "Why do they need to see Renesmee?! She's done nothing wrong!"

"No," Alice agreed, "she hasn't. They're afraid of what she _might_ do, though. Their eyes never lay upon a half breed before Renesmee. Even with the reassurance I showed them, it wasn't enough. They still need to check."

My horror turned into anger. How could they distrust Renesmee? She was so sweet and innocent and loveable! I saw my disgust mirrored on Bella and Rosalie's faces. Renesmee and Alice's faces were still pure horror. I could tell that I was the only one breathing full time; Renesmee only took pinches of air every few minutes.

A horn honked behind us and the distracted silence ended. Alice took her foot off the brake pedal and speeded down the highway, going faster every moment. Alice picked up her phone and dialed a number. A millisecond later, someone seemed to answer.

"Carlisle," Alice seemed relived. She explained the situation at hand to her adoptive father and when she was done, I heard dead silence on the other end of the phone. He might've not been speaking…or it might've been too low for me to hear. I could never be sure.

Alice put down her phone and went faster and faster down the street. It was only a few minutes later that we were back at the Cullens' house. Edward was already outside waiting for us—the poor guy was shaking like a maniac. Before the car even came to a full stop, Bella and Renesmee were out and in Edward's arms. He tightened his hold on Bella and kissed the top of Renesmee's head. It was then that I noticed Nessie crying with fear. Edward wiped away each of her quickly coming tears, one after another. Bella was sobbing but no tears came out of her eyes. Alice and Rosalie ushered me inside.

Everyone was there. The Cullens and the werewolves were both equally nervous about the situation. Renesmee ran into Jacob's opened arms and cried into his shoulder. Seth was trying his best to calm Esme who looked so stricken with terror that it was amazing. Even Leah was chewing her nails off because of her nerves. And, as usual, the only person I noticed was Seth. Pathetic, I murmured to myself, how pathetic can you possible be?

"Alice," Esme sighed once she saw us. "Alice…when do we leave?"

Alice heaved a heavy, painful sigh. "Three nights from tonight," she said regretfully.

I wondered by they were all so afraid. Renesmee was doing fine. She hadn't hurt anyone. The Volturi wasn't going to burn them for no reason.

"Jasmine," Edward said. Of course I could count on him to answer any question. "It's not Renesmee or our…er…would you know what I meant if I said lives?" I nodded. "Good. That isn't what any of us are worried about. Even Nessie herself isn't crying of fear for her life."

I was dumbfounded. That left me baffled. What were they afraid of, then? I'd been confused before, but never like this.

"Jasmine," Seth said from across the room, "it's _your_ life we're all worried about."

My mouth dropped. _My_ life!? Why was _my_ life in danger now!?

"There are rules for vampires, Jasmine," Seth explained. "They all fall under the same category, though. Protect the secret. The werewolves have the same thing, but no punishment. In the vampire world, you expose the secret, and the Volturi will take care of you."

"How does this apply to _me_, though? I've done nothing wrong!" I was crying now. I didn't notice until Seth came up, hugged me, and wiped away the single tear that was dangling on my cheek.

"_You've_ done nothing wrong, Jazzy," Nessie said. "We have. We told you our secret. Now, vampire life and Volturi dinner are your only options!" Alice started dry sobbing into Jasper's chest at the reminder.

"I'm sorry, Jasmine!" she whimpered. "I'm so sorry!"

Everyone was staring at me with sympathy in their eyes. I tried to think of something to calm them. Suddenly, I felt like a light bulb should've flashed about my head.

"Bella," I said.

Bella's head snapped up. "What about me?"

"Bella," I said again. "Bella, when you were human, you knew!"

"And so did the Volturi," she confirmed.

"Exactly!" I screamed. "They did nothing to Bella! And becoming a vampire was her choice, right? The Volturi didn't force her to!"

"I still would've had to choose," Bella said, "between vampire life and death even if my decision hadn't been made yet. Once the Volturi knew, they were bound to kill me that moment but we convinced them of my destiny."

That made sense, I suppose. Mine and Bella's words seemed to make my family even more distressed. I searched for a way to patch it up.

"And if we were to convince them that I was to become a vampire—"

"Which you won't!" Alice interrupted. I rolled my eyes.

"If we could convince them then I'd be safe!" I finished.

"No, the Volturi can't be fooled," Alice disagreed. "It's impossible to convince them of falsehoods."

"How would they know, anyway?" I screamed. "They'll believe you! You came through with Bella, so why wouldn't you be able to come through with me?"

Carlisle sighed. "My dear, we already 'endangered' the secret once before. The Volturi may not sit around to chat this time. They could destroy us all the moment they find out."

"But how _can_ they find out!?" I asked. My voice sounded so hysterical and incoherent, my eyes wet with tears. Seth's arms tightened around me. "If we lie, how will they know!?"

"Aro," Edward murmured. "Aro can read minds."

"Then you don't think about me…?" I suggested.

Edward shook his head. "Aro's power works differently than mine. He'll touch a being's hand and know every single thought they've ever had, ever single memory. As soon as they find out about you, the possibilities are limited and painful."

"I'm sorry!" Alice screamed again. Jasper whispered the same words at me and kissed Alice's head.

"I'm going," I said after a long silence.

My entire family's eyes—vampire and werewolf alike—flashed to my face.

"No," Alice and Jasper said.

"No," the rest of the Cullens agreed.

"No," Seth growled. Leah and Jacob just shook their heads.

"I _have_ to go! I can't let you guys be punished for me!" I said to them.

"You're not going, Jazzy," Alice said.

"Why?" I asked her.

Alice stared into the future and Edward's face froze. Surely, he was seeing her vision in her head.

"You're not going," Alice repeated.

"Alice," Carlisle said, "what did you see?"

"Aro is going to see Jasmine in my thoughts," Alice said. "They'll take the plane back with us."

"All of them?" Esme gasped. "Again?"

Alice shook her head. "No, not all of them. Only eight of them will come."

"Which eight?" Emmett demanded. I hadn't noticed him standing next to the unusually quiet Rosalie.

"Jane, Alec, Caius, Aro, Demitri, Felix, Chelsea, and Renata are the only ones."

Emmett murmured something unintelligible. By the looks on the Cullens' faces, I didn't think this was a good thing.

"The more powerful ones always come," Edward murmured.

"Where will she stay while we're gone?" Esme asked.

"That's a great idea, Seth!" Alice said. "Of course! Jasmine can stay with you and Leah!"


	16. Chapter 16

I stared at Alice dumbfounded. Seth hadn't said anything, I was sure of it. I shrugged internally. He had probably been _about_ to say something, Alice would've known.

"Seth!" Leah complained. "How am I going to live with the vampire stench?"

Seth chuckled and his arms loosed around me. "C'mon Leah, we can do a favor for our _favorite_ vampire family, can't we?"

"Humph," Leah said.

"And anyway, she is human, Leah," Seth continued. "The 'stench' will wear off."

"Well," Leah gave in, "I guess that is a little better."

"That's my big sis." Seth walked over to Leah and playfully punched her arm.

Leah shrugged him off and muttered the words "leech lover" under her breath. The momentarily playful atmosphere dispersed and everyone's grave mask returned.

"How long will we be gone?" Esme asked. Everyone looked toward Alice.

"A month," Alice said. "They want to observe how we interact with each other—with Renesmee, specifically—and how Renesmee acts toward us. And, of course, Aro still hasn't given up his dream to have Edward, Bella, and I join him." She rolled her eyes.

"Screw the dream," Edward murmured.

"Still," Esme started, "why must they keep us so long?"

Alice shrugged. "They keep changing their minds about something. Whatever this thing is, it's making the 'why' prospect of it all hard to see."

"Well," Rosalie spoke for the first time throughout the entire conversation, "we should start packing."

The next few moments were so confusing to me. Before I knew it, I was in my room upstairs with a suitcase in front of me and Alice throwing things in it.

"Help me," she murmured. I stepped into my closet and started pulling some jeans into the suitcase. I looked for my favorite outfit but Alice had already thrown it in. For that, I was thankful.

"Don't forget the dress," Alice reminded me as she swept out the door. I planned to just hide it somewhere but Alice probably already knew my plan. I reluctantly took the dress off the hanger and put it at the bottom of my suitcase.

"Impractical," I murmured before I stuffed the matching shoes in. Just as I was about to close the suitcase, Renesmee came into the room.

"Nessie!" Alice screamed angrily from downstairs. Renesmee ignored her.

"Here you go," she said putting a shoe box into my hands. I knew they were the more _practical_ ballet flats.

"Nessie, you're a lifesaver," I said hugging her.

She laughed. "I'm almost sure you mean that literally," she joked.

"I do," I said. "Look at these things!" I flung the pair of six inch heels into her face. "I would die!"

"I'm sure you would," Nessie joked. I hugged her, not knowing how long it would be before I hugged her again… or _if_ I'd ever hug her again. If the Volturi got to me, I would surely die in an instant. Would I ever hug any of my family members again? I gulped internally. Would I ever hug Seth again? The warmth of his embrace had sent me into an outstanding swirl of emotions; would I ever get to feel it again? Or would I perish before I could hug him again and tell him how I felt? My entire body was shaking manically by this point. Renesmee patted my back.

"It's okay, it's okay," she crooned. "We won't let them hurt you. You'll live, you'll live."

The next three days flew by in the same fashion. Packing was done in a few minutes and I spent every moment as possible with my family. I couldn't believe all of them were leaving. Even Jacob Black was going with them. There had been a relatively short argument about someone staying, but at the end of the day, they were all going. I stared out the window the night before the Cullens' departure and thought about the dispute.

"Jasper, one of us should stay behind. We shouldn't impose by sending her to the Clearwaters' place…" Alice had begun.

"Really, Alice, it's no trouble," Seth said.

"Alice, we all have to go," Carlisle argued gently. "We need you and Jasper there."

"I know that, Carlisle," Alice had said stubbornly while I stayed in the very back of the room and watched the quarrel quietly. "But, really, Rosalie could stay!"

"Oh no!" Rosalie exclaimed as she stood up from her seat on the couch. "Emmett's going to provide backup muscle. If he goes, I go. End of story." She snorted and sat back down. Emmett put his arm around her.

"That's my girl," he said. Edward rolled his eyes.

"Don't start," Bella murmured to him.

"I could stay," Esme whispered.

"No, Esme." Alice was giving in. I could tell by her tone. "You should be with Carlisle."

"Seth," Jasper started, "do we leave her at your house before we leave to Volterra?"

"When are you leaving?" Seth asked.

"Five thirty in the morning on Tuesday."

"That won't do," Seth said shaking his head. "Jasmine needs sleep. Leah and I will stay here and drive her to our place once she wakes up."

"Oh no," Leah said. "I'm not sleeping inside a place that smells so fowl."

Seth sighed. "Sleep outside, then," he murmured.

"Gladly," Leah retorted.

"Then it's settled," Carlisle said. "Thank you, Seth. We're sorry for imposing."

"Oh, it's really no problem, Carlisle," Seth said. "It's my pleasure." Seth threw a wink at me and came to sit by my side while the Cullens discussed other matters.

I put my head between my knees. I had so much fate in the Cullens, but I knew death was most likely inevitable. The Volturi would come back to Forks and murder me. Then, when I was gone, I would not rest in peace. My soul would miss my family too much. Alice, I knew, would say something like "at least you died with a soul" but my soul meant nothing if I had no one. I could be leaving behind the Cullens to face their doom as well and that was more painful than facing my own death. Being the cause of their death would surely send me to hell. I sighed. There was one more thing that I couldn't live with. Never seeing Seth again would be terrible. Suddenly, I stared at the wall in shock.

I couldn't believe this hadn't come to my mind sooner. It was an obvious conclusion. I didn't know how or why, but I knew I loved Seth Clearwater. Even if he didn't feel the same way about me, I loved him. I was in love with a werewolf. As unbelievable as it might have been to others, it made perfect sense to me. Seth was kind, caring, and a friend to me. I hugged myself tightly and tried to remember how to breathe.

"Knock, knock," an overly familiar voice called from the doorway.

"Hey, Seth," I said wiping away the overflowing tears. Hearing his voice didn't help much. The tears I wiped away were soon replaced with more.

"Jasmine!" Seth exclaimed running toward me. Gently, he put his warm arms around me in comfort. "What's wrong?"

I sniffled. "I just—can't stand—the though—of never—seeing—any of you—again," I managed to choke out. I was momentarily amazed at how easy it was to talk to him. The amazement died out and was soon replaced with fright. The fright of never being able to be with Seth like this again was painful and overwhelming. More tears flowed out of my eyes.

"That's not gonna happen," he assured me, wiping my tears. "We won't let you die. Each and every one of us will fight to the death if that's what it takes. It'll be the end of the Volturi if that's how far we have to go."

My tears turned to full time sobs at his words. "I don't—want you—to die—for me," I sobbed.

"You might not want me to," he said, "but I will, Jasmine. I swear I will."

I hugged Seth tightly and continued to weep. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe that my families—werewolf and vampire—were risking their eternal lives to save me, an insignificant, human girl. My tear quieted and eventually ceased but Seth didn't let go of me. I was thankful he didn't. I rested my head on his shoulder and kept my arms around him until, at some time, I finally fell asleep.

**Author's Note: Yay! My first author's note! How fun! Anyway, I just really want to take a moment of my time to thank everyone whose come with me this far. I have some very loyal followers who have been reading Jasmine's story from the start and I would not keep writing if it wasn't for all of you that read and love my story! Also, if anyone wants some good music, I highly suggest The Fray, Jack's Mannequin, Boys Like Girls, Linkin Park, All American Rejects, Flyleaf, and Jimmy Eat World. **

**You Are Made of Awesome**


	17. Chapter 17

I woke in the morning with a fright. I'd had such a nightmare that I couldn't believe I hadn't screamed. I had no clue what time it was or how long I'd slept but that didn't matter. All that mattered to me now was the nightmare.

In the dream, the Volturi came back for me. They gave me no options. I was hiding in the forest, curled up in a ball with my eyes closed. I had my back turned to them, but I knew they were there. Long, black cloaks surrounded me and the tallest one beckoned to me. I didn't move and he seemed frustrated. The next moment, I found myself cringing in pain on the forest floor. An unseen force was giving me an illusion of pain. I opened my eyes and saw a very short woman concentrating very hard on me and smirking. When the pain receded, I didn't move an inch. One of them kicked me and pushed me into something. I was on my back and the same one pushed me down with so much force that a stick stabbed into my back. I yelped in pain.

"Jasmine!" Seth screamed from somewhere in the darkness. This was the last voice I'd heard before the Volturi attacked. That was when I'd woken.

Now I simply shook my head and tried to make the memory of the nightmare vanish. It was only then that I'd noticed I wasn't on the window seat where I'd fallen asleep last night. I was on my bed in my clothes from the past day. Seth must've moved me. I was usually a really light sleeper, how did I not wake up? Wow, I must have been really knocked out.

I rolled over and felt something crackle under me. It was a folded piece of paper with my name written neatly on the front. I opened it and started reading.

_Dear Jasmine,_

_Sorry, honey. Jasper and I tried to wake you up and say goodbye but, my goodness, you were asleep! You seemed a bit restless, though. I hope you didn't have a nightmare about that dreaded Volturi. Don't worry, I swear we will not let them near you. Jasper and I will do everything in our power to keep them from hurting you. Renesmee says to not fret over anything and Carlisle, Esme, Rose, Em, Edward, and Bella send their love. See you soon._

_-Alice_

I sighed. They were probably already in Volterra by this time. I wondered what it would feel like when the Volturi killed me. I had to face it, my death was inevitable. I hoped that they would at least leave the Cullens be. That was all I could hope for after I was dead: that my family would not have to pay their lives for me.

I jumped up from the bed and walked over to my closet. I threw on a clean pair of jeans and the first shirt my hands touched. I brushed my hair and saw the curls bounce down to the middle of my back. I brushed a few strands forward, slipped on a pair of sandals, and headed downstairs.

Downstairs, I heard a gentle snore. I looked to find Seth sprawled across the floor with a hilarious expression on his sleeping face. I let a small giggle escape my lips and held back the rest of my laughter in order to not wake him. Outside the window, I saw Leah in her wolf form pacing. She caught sight of my, nodded in my direction, and went to the far side of the house to phase back. A few minutes later, Leah opened the door and closed it with a loud bang making Seth shoot up from the floor. I laughed more.

"Morning, Jasmine," Leah said.

"Morning, Leah," I said back. "Morning, Seth."

Seth yawned. "Good morning," he said. "Anyone hungry? Carlisle said to help ourselves to the food."

"No thanks," Leah said. "I'm not exactly fond of O negative. I'll eat at home."

Seth rolled his eyes. "How about you, Jazzy?" he asked me. "You wanna eat here or eat back at our place?"

"I can wait," I said. I was looking down at the floor as I spoke. I knew it was pretty idiotic of me to never have made eye contact with Seth even once before, but that was me. I knew that if I caught a glimpse of his eyes, my heart would melt and I'd fall to my knees. My biggest personality trait had to be _pathetic_.

"Let's _go_, Seth," Leah whined. "I need to get away from the vamp stench now." She tossed some car keys at Seth and he chuckled.

"All right, Leah," he said. He gave me a warm hug and we all proceeded to the garage.

"Jasmine's bag is already in the trunk. The bloodsucker said we could take the Vanquish," Leah said. Seth rolled his eyes at the stupid nickname and got into the driver's seat. Leah got in the back and Seth motioned for me to sit next to him in the front. I buckled my seatbelt and avoided his eyes as we sped through the forest, down the highway, and past Forks. Eventually, we ended up in La Push.

"Quiet, Seth," Leah advised. "I think mom's still asleep."

It was only then that I noticed the very clear sky and the chill in the air. It looked a lot earlier than I thought. Dawn was barely breaking. We quietly got out of the car and opened the door to their house.

Inside, it was warm and cozy. The color scheme was made up of simple colors like greens and browns. I plopped my bag down next to the sofa. Leah sat down and motioned for me to do the same. She started flipping the channels on the television looking for something interesting to watch.

"Seth," she called quietly, "be a good little brother and make me something to eat."

"Yes, you're royal highness," Seth said sarcastically. He made his way to the kitchen and I stood up to go help him.

"So, what does the queen usually demand for breakfast?" I asked him.

"I heard that," Leah said from the living room. Seth chuckled.

"Eggs, potatoes, chicken, and toast," he said smirking. "Toss me the potatoes, please."

I took the three that I found on the kitchen counter to him and watched as he diced them.

"Here, let me do that," I offered taking the knife and cutting board from his hands.

"You sure?" he asked me.

"Completely," I said.

We worked in silence for a few minutes. Seth started with the eggs while I cut the potatoes. I opened my mouth a few times to start conversation but the only topic that came to my mind was the Volturi and I didn't want to relive my nightmare. Seth opened his mouth a few times but then clamped it shut as if thinking of the same thing I thought of.

"What's your mom like?" I asked him.

Seth shrugged. "She's sort of snobby, kinda mean, stuck up; she shows lots of solitude, that's for sure. So you could say she's like an older Leah." We laughed together at his statement.

"Think she'll like me?" I asked once our laughter died down.

"Oh, I'm sure she'll love you," he assured me. "It's impossible not to."

"Thanks."

We were quiet for a few more minutes. I broke the silence.

"Oh _crud_!" I exclaimed. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, _ow_!"

"What is it?" Seth asked dropping what he was doing. I took my right hand off of my left one to reveal a finger with a slit in the side and blood gushing out of the wound. I'd accidently cut myself. Great…

Seth took my hand and rinsed it under the cold water of the sink and pressed on it with a towel to stop the bleeding. Reaching into a drawer, he pulled out a band aid and wrapped it around the cut. The stinging receded along with the blood but Seth didn't let go of my hand for a while. Too soon, he released my hand.

"What's the verdict?" I asked.

"You'll live," he decided. He might've smiled at me but I still wasn't looking up so I wouldn't have been able to tell. I smiled a shy smile and started to clean up the small mess my blood had made. Luckily, the food wasn't harmed. I was just about to ask Seth where to put the soiled dishtowel when Leah walked in.

"Is breakfast ready yet?" she complained. "Jeez, you people are slow."

Seth rolled his eyes. "Order up." He passed a plate to Leah and put two more plates on the table. We all three sat down and ate.

"It's good," Leah said taking a bite. "Good work, Seth."

Seth rolled his eyes. "Yes, Leah, because I live to please you," he said sarcastically.

"As you should." Leah nodded.

Seth flicked a piece of egg into her hair. Leah dropped her fork and stared up at her brother.

"You. Did. _Not_."

And then a war was on. Leah aimed a piece of bread at her brother but it ended up smacking me in the face. I stood up to wash the plates as Seth and Leah continued their bickering. We laughed loudly and forgot about their mother, Sue, who was still sleeping.

"Who is throwing food in my kitchen?" a voice called. The moment Sue Clearwater came in through the doorway, I slipped on something—perhaps a spill of juice or something—and fell face up on Seth's lap.


	18. Chapter 18

"Whoa!" I screamed as I fell. Seth caught me before my head could fall far back enough to crack my head on the linoleum. Seth laughed.

"Did anyone ever tell you that the middle name of Isabella fits you well?" he chuckled.

"Once or twice," I admitted careful to keep my eyes away from his face.

We stayed like that for a while just laughing over my clumsiness and about how much I deserved to have Bella's name. I heard Leah and Sue having a hushed conversation.

"Leah," Sue snapped.

"But mom," Leah whined.

Silence except for a slight whip in the air.

"Ah," Leah sighed. I heard some click clacks on the floor that faded but I wasn't sure what they were. When Seth lifted me up onto my feet, I noticed we were alone. The conversation and sounds suddenly clicked together in my head. Great. Was it really that obvious?

I quickly wet a towel and wiped the mess on the floor before I slipped on it again. I didn't notice that Seth had crouched down beside me until I felt his hand on mine.

"Here, let me do that," he offered. "You're the guest, not the maid."

"That'll take some getting used to," I said, standing up and wiping my hands on my pants.

"Why?" he asked. "Oh…the orphanage."

I nodded. "The mistress despised cleaning." I chuckled and so did Seth.

I heard a slight buzzing sound and I knew at once it was a phone. I wasn't sure when, but Alice had put a cell phone in my bag. I dug around until I found it. I flipped it open.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Good morning, Jazzy," Alice whispered.

"Morning," I said.

"So glad you had some fun this morning," Alice said. Of course she'd know what I'd been up to.

"So anyway," Alice continued, "Jasper and I send our love and we all miss you. The Volturi haven't a clue… yet. I have to go but I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Okay," I croaked. Hearing her voice made me want to cry.

"I love you."

"I love you, too." And with that, I snapped my phone shut.

I sat down on the couch and contemplated my issues. My life was on the line, I was a thousand percent sure the one I loved didn't love me, and my family was in Volterra facing a family of evil vampires to save me. And, as always, there was nothing I could do about any of it. I had my eyes closed so I didn't notice Seth walk into the room until I felt his warm presence beside me on the couch.

"Did Alice call?" he asked.

"Yeah, I just hung up."

"What did she say?" He seemed frantic. "Do they know?"

"No, the Volturi don't know who I am yet."

"That's good," he said. "I'm glad you're still safe."

"Me too," I said.

The rest of the day wasn't too interesting. Leah stayed in her room all day on the phone and Sue went out to Charlie Swan's house. Seth and I just watched television for hours. My eyes drooped because of my restless sleep the night before and eventually I fell asleep. During my sleep, I seemed to have fallen over and I woke up with my head on Seth's lap. He was stroking my hair, much to my contentment. It was amazing to find that I was still tired so I simply closed my eyes and fell asleep again.

When I woke, I was lying face down on a bed that wasn't familiar. I looked at the clock on the bedside table. It was eight thirty in the morning. Whoa! How did that happen?! I must have been more tired than I thought.

"Hey, you're up," someone called from the doorway.

"Morning, Seth," I said as he came to sit next to me.

"Sleep well?"

I nodded.

"That's good. I didn't think that was possible with this lumpy mattress. But it was better than the couch. The stupid springs in that thing probably left marks in my back." He stretched back and I heard his bones crack.

"This is your room?" I asked him.

"Yup."

"Seth, you really didn't have to do that—" I started arguing but he interrupted me.

"Oh yes I did," he said. "You're the guest, remember? You deserve the best accommodations."

"Thanks," I said.

"No problem."

We sat in silence for a moment and Seth seemed to be searching for how to say something.

"Listen, Jasmine," he started. My heart started racing at the speed of light when he said my name and I felt the blood pounding in my ears. I couldn't stand it, he just seemed too perfect. "You told me you haven't had time to do much sight seeing, right?"

I couldn't do much more than nod at this point. His face was just so close to mine, it made it difficult for me to breathe correctly. I started hyperventilating quietly. I couldn't remember having ever felt so dazed.

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to come to the beach with me. It's been pretty empty around there lately, but the view is beautiful in the mornings. Will you come?" I wanted so badly to look up at his eyes right now and stare into his eyes but there was no telling what my response may be. I kept my eyes safely on my hands.

"I'd love to, Seth," I said. He put his hand on mine for a second and then left me to get ready. I stood up slowly and started to go out into the living room to get my bag when I discovered it next to the door. The moment I picked it up, I heard my phone buzz. I opened it and discovered a text message from Alice.

_Wear the dress!_ she commanded. I sighed and shut the phone. I quickly dug out the dress and shoes she wanted me to wear and put them on reluctantly. I hadn't a prayer of winning an argument with Alice over clothes. I closed my eyes tight and walked out of the room and into the living room where Seth was waiting.

"Ready to go?" he asked eyeing my apparel.

I nodded.

"Let's go then."

He opened the door and held it out for me. I walked outside with Seth right behind me. We both stepped into the Vanquish and he backed out of the driveway. From the window, I caught a glimpse of Leah's smirking face. I rolled my eyes and we continued down the road and to the beach.


	19. Chapter 19

As the houses of La Push flew by outside the window I thought about Alice's words in the car a few days ago. _"I guess I was being stupid about it, Nessie," Alice said. "Jasmine, really it isn't anything bad. I guess I just wanted it to be a surprise. No point in keeping it from you now, though." Alice shrugged. "So yeah, in about a month or so, you'll be in that dress on the beach with Seth."_

Alice had been wrong. A month? Pft. Four days was more like it. I guess Alice couldn't see werewolves as well as she thought she could. We drove in silence and after a few moments, I could smell the ocean. Even though I'd never smelt or seen one, I knew what it was. I knew the smell, the sounds, and the look. I could just tell when we were close. The salty smell burned in my nose and I rolled down the window to get a better effect. I practically stuck my head out the window trying to memorize the smell of the sand and water. I was resting my hand on the edge of my seat when Seth parked the car close to a cliff. We sat in silence for a moment and Seth put his flaming hand on mine. Was it possible that his touch felt hotter than usual?

Seth reached over and opened my door before opening his. We stepped out into the unusually warm morning.

"Beautiful," I declared staring out into the sun beyond the waves. I could tell it was only warm for now. I might as well make the most of it.

Seth shrugged. "I've seen prettier things." I wasn't exactly sure what he was talking about until he nudged me. Then I understood. I felt my cheeks getting red hot as the blood rushed to my face. Seth stroked my left cheek with the back of his index finger for a moment. It made my face feel even hotter.

"Look," he said pointing out to the water with the same finger he'd just touched my cheek with. "The waves aren't so strong now. Let's go see how cold the water is." He took my hand gently and guided me down from the cliff and onto the sand below. I took off my shoes before the sand started so I could feel the softness of it between my toes. It felt nice.

We kept walking until we reached the water. The tide was coming in gently and it wrapped around my ankles. To my surprise, it was mildly warm. I stepped in farther to the point where the water reached up just enough to not soak the hem of my dress. Seth folded up his already cut off jeans and followed me in.

We stood for a while just looking out into the ocean. There were some gray clouds but they were far away and wouldn't come for a while. To my amusement, Seth slipped on a stone and splashed back in the water causing me to be splattered with the salty ocean water. We laughed as we continued by splashing each other more and more as the time flew by. When we finally got over our childish ways, we continued to the still empty shore to look at washed up shells. There was one we saw at the same time. We both reached down to pick it up. My hands closed around the soft pink seashell and his hand closed around mine. I drew it up to my face to get a closer look at it. The swirly shell was pretty and had a small hole in the edge, as if it was made to be used for a necklace. I put the shell in his hands and he held it to his heart, as if he treasured it greatly. Through all this time, I somehow managed to avoid his eyes.

I turned away from him for a second and looked out into the sun. Was it possible that we'd spent the entire day out here? Time flew by so fast these days. I suddenly felt something being slid around my neck. I looked down to find the shell we'd just found with a thin, gold chain strung through the hole in the top. I reached up to touch the shell.

"Thank you," I said to Seth.

"No problem," he answered. Again, he pointed out to the sun. "It's sunset," he said. "Let's go back up to the cliff and get a better view." I nodded eagerly and followed him back up to where we'd parked the car. For minutes that seemed like hours, we stood at the very edge of the cliff and watched the sun set. The sun was half visible, half not when Seth turned me to face him. I kept my gaze lowered as his eyes stared down at me. I couldn't see them, but I could feel the caring sensation coming in waves from them. It made me blush again.

"Jasmine," Seth started cautiously, "there's something I absolutely have to tell you." My heart raced faster than I thought possible. It was loud; Alice might've been able to hear its pounding from Volterra. "Do you know what imprinting is?" he asked me. I nodded, forgetting how to speak. "Good. I want to tell you that I don't care about imprinting anymore. I don't care about the whole story that this person is the one I'm meant to be with. It's all a lie and I have proof to back up my story. I can't be meant to be with anyone else but you, Jasmine. It could sound insane, but it's true." I wanted to yell at the top of my lungs that I felt the same way but I couldn't find the muscles to open my lips. "Jasmine," Seth hesitated, "I—I think I'm in love with you."

This shocked me. Alice was right, he did feel the same way. For the first time since I'd met him, I looked straight up into Seth Clearwater's eyes.


	20. Chapter 20

_**Seth's Point of View**_

I'd been preparing myself for this since the day I met Jasmine. I took a deep breath and prepared to start.

"Jasmine," Seth I started cautiously. It was amazing the sensation that her name sent through my body. "There's something I absolutely have to tell you." I heard her heart race at my words. It made me feel self conscious for a moment. What would she say? Would she been disgusted and walk away? Or would she say she felt the same way? I didn't know what to do. I decided to start with a question. "Do you know what imprinting is?" I asked her. She nodded. "Good. I want to tell you that I don't care about imprinting anymore." At this point, the words just started rushing out. It felt good to say them. They felt so right. "I don't care about the whole story that this person is the one I'm meant to be with. It's all a lie and I have proof to back up my story. I can't be meant to be with anyone else but you, Jasmine. It could sound insane, but it's true." I saw her lips twitch as if wanting to say something but she kept her mouth firmly closed. I better not procrastinate any longer. "Jasmine," I hesitated, trying to force out the words, "I—I think I'm in love with you."

Jasmine's mouth dropped open. For the first time since I'd met her, she looked straight up at me. Her blue green eyes gleamed like the most beautiful gems I'd seen in my entire life. They were wide with excitement, happiness, and love as they bore into mine. As soon as I caught sight of them, I knew this was the girl. Since the moment I'd met her, I knew that she was my reason for living. Now I had even more a reason to stay with her than before. I didn't just love her, she was the one. She was the gravity that tied me to the earth.

Jasmine Isabella Cullen, the love of my life.

_**Jasmine's Point of View**_

I looked straight up at Seth's large, brown eyes. The moment I saw them, I might've sworn my heart melted. He smiled a large, loving, and…surprised? smile at me. Before I knew it, Seth's arms were around my waist and his warm lips were on mine.

I have never been able to describe it, the way his lips felt on mine. It was a sensation I'd never experienced, a sensation I loved. My arms flew up above me and wrapped around his neck. Seconds later, I heard loud thunder and rain coming down on my back. In just a few moments, I was soaked. I didn't care, though. All that mattered to me was that I was with Seth and that he loved me as much as I loved him. He paused the kiss for a moment only to move his mouth to my ear and whisper the words I was almost sure I'd dreamed.

"I love you," he said. We were both insanely wet by this point but it didn't bother us at all.

"I love you, too," I said.

"And, Jasmine?"

"Yeah?"

"I just imprinted."

Another huge shock to me. My heart raced faster than before. "On who?" I was too dizzy to realize the obvious.

"On you, silly," he said.

It was all too much. If Seth's strong arms hadn't been holding me up, I might've collapsed. I pressed my ear to his chest and listened to his heart beat. We stayed like that for a while, not moving, in the rain. Eventually, the thunder became more brutal and lightning cracked above our heads. The wind started blowing coldly and we went to the car to stay warm. Inside, we just laughed at ourselves for a while until I just had to ask a question.

"Seth," I asked, "how did you imprint? You've seen me before today and isn't it supposed to be love _at first sight_?"

Seth sighed. "Well, I think what did it was your eyes. When I first saw you, Jasmine, I felt a spark but that was it. I had never seen your eyes before today and the moment you looked up at me with them, I felt fireworks explode inside of me. And it that instant, I just knew it. I knew you were the one. Of course, I'd known before I imprinted that I loved you, now I just have more of a reason to." He looked to my side to see how I was taking it all in and seemed frustrated when he saw my face.

"What?" he asked.

"Well," I sighed. "How? How are we going to do this? Seth, I want to become a vampire. And, even though Alice is being so pessimistic about it, I won't give up until it happens. Alice said you do eventually keep aging and—"

Seth sighed interrupting me. I understood immediately what he was thinking.

"You want me to stay alive." It wasn't a question. I knew that was what he was thinking. "You're siding with Alice and Jasper on this one."

Seth sighed again. "I want for you what makes you happy. If an eternal, immortal life is what you want then I'll let you do that. Of course, if the day comes, I'll keep going wolf to stay with you forever. You know that."

And I did know that. I knew Seth loved me enough to put up with me for the rest of eternity. There was one question I just had to ask, though. No matter how ridiculous it sounded.

"You won't mind the smell?" I laughed.

He seemed confused. "The smell?"

I nodded. "I can see that vampires don't exactly smell _good_ to werewolves, and vise versa. Think you'll be able to handle that?"

Seth laughed. "Sure it'll take some getting used to, and I'll definitely miss the way you smell right now, but it'll be worth it. There's nothing I wouldn't do to keep from letting you go, Jasmine."

He stroked my cheek for a moment and smiled as the red blush deepened in color on my face. He dropped his hand to lay it on mine and curled his fingers around it. We stayed like that for a while, just staring out the window into the heavy rain and, occasionally, at each other. I was glad to see that, despite our new state, I was still perfectly comfortable with being with Seth like before. Perhaps it was even better. I wasn't sure. My out of body experience wasn't wearing off fast enough for me to be able to think straight.

"It's getting late," Seth announced just as the moon became visible in the sky. "We should probably be getting home."

I sighed. I wanted the moment to last forever but he was right. It was getting late.

Seth laughed at my expression. "Don't worry, we can always come back," he assured me. I smiled and he leaned over to peck my forehead before starting the car. We backed out of our parking spot and headed back to the Clearwater household. To my utter discomfort, I saw Leah in a short, red, Hawaiian print dress pacing in the living room. She looked up and stopped in her tracks. Leah smiled when she caught sight of me and Seth and ran out into the rain to meet us. I was sure the cold wasn't a bother for her or Seth considering their temperature but my teeth were chattering.

"Cold?" Seth asked me.

"Just a little," I said. I rubbed my hands against my arms in hope that the friction would warm them a bit. When I looked to my side, I saw Seth pulling a blue sweater out of the back seat and handing it to me. I assumed it might've been Leah's before she hit her wolf growth spurt.

"I figured you might need it," he said as I put it on. The sweater was nice and warm, of which I was grateful. I pulled the hood on and stepped into the rain. Of course Alice only cared that I looked good, not if I froze to death in the short dress. I sighed and went up the walk with Seth at my side to face Leah.

"Hey you two," she greeted us. Leah seemed a lot perkier than usual.

"Hello, Leah," I said politely. Seth simply nodded in her direction and led me inside. Leah followed us in and closed the door behind her. I tried very hard to stifle the yawn that was forcing itself upon my lips but I couldn't help it. The day's events had left me so exhausted, I had to sleep. Seth chuckled beside me.

"Sleepy?" he inquired. I rubbed my eyes and smiled.

"No," I lied. Another yawn took advantage of my being distracted and forced its way out. Seth laughed again.

"You should sleep," he suggested.

I chuckled. "Guess I should."

Seth took my hand and led me to the same room I slept in last night. It was the third door down in the hallway with the letter 'S' in blue on the door. He opened it and flicked on the light for me. Before he left me to sleep, he softly pecked my lips. Then he left, closing the door behind him.

I didn't sleep soundly that night. I had the worst nightmare I'd ever had. I woke up screaming with tears streaming down my face and a terrible headache. I stayed alone in the room for only half a second until Seth ran in to make sure I was safe. He caught sight of my tear stained face and walked over to hug me.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I had a nightmare, Seth," I said. "And the nightmare…. It's real! I just know it is! It can't not be real!"

"What is it?" he asked. He would think me insane for believing this dream but it wasn't the first time one of my dreams had turned into reality.

"The Cullens," I whispered. "The Cullens, they're going to be burned by the Volturi."


	21. Chapter 21

Seth stared at me in shock. His eyes were wide and his mouth was shaped into a perfect O.

"What are you talking about?" he asked me.

"I saw it, Seth! In my dream! I saw it!"

"Please," he said, "tell me. I want to know exactly what you saw."

I told him every single detail of the excruciating nightmare. How I ran into a large, stone room and the first person I saw was Bella.

"Bella!" I screamed and ran toward her. Her eyes were closed and she was quivering uncontrollably. I didn't know why she wasn't moving, wasn't _running_ for her life.

That was when I dropped to thefloor in agony. I didn't know why, but I did. I saw a short figure in a long, black cloak concentrating on me. She smiled evilly and I cringed away from her. That was when I knew she was the one causing me pain.

"Bella!" I screamed again through my pain. "Bella! You can run! She can't hurt you!" I couldn't form words anymore. The pain was too terrible.

The short one laughed. "Oh, she can move of course. The girl simply doesn't want to." She made her way over to Bella and patted her arm. "Isn't that right, Bella?"

"Stop hurting her, Jane," Bella had whispered. The pain that was inflicted on me next had been too real to be a dream. At this point in my recap of the nightmare, I was bawling my eyes out. Seth listened with his arms around me as he cradled me against his chest.

"Fine," the one called Jane had said. "You leave me one option."

"No!" Bella screamed but it was too late. I heard two screams of agony in the darkness. They were much too familiar. So that's why Bella hadn't wanted to move. If she did, this _Jane_ person would hurt Edward and Renesmee. The name of this woman made bile rise in my throat.

"Silence!" Jane had yelled toward Edward and Nessie but they couldn't help themselves. Their screams of agony became worse and worse, forcing Bella to fall to her knees and sob, tearless.

"Stop crying you foolish girl," a different, deeper voice said. "Your time is up, anyway. Come along."

He said the words so casually but I could feel the venom behind them. The Jane girl grabbed Bella by the wrists and pulled her into the darkness. The farther Jane went the more screams I heard. It was too late not to recognize the faces and voices that went with the cries.

I heard Seth's shocked intake of breath as I told him that those screams belonged to each of the Cullens. I tried not to linger on the last detail much because it was the most painful. I hated the image of the purple smoke rising when members of the Volturi touched fire to my family's skin. The most painful thing I felt, yes, more painful than Jane's power on me, was felt when I stared at the faces of Alice and Jasper. Their mouths screaming my name in agony, attempting to tell me how much they loved me. Eventually, they were consumed by the flames and I'd woken up. By the end of my story, my entire body was quivering violently and my face was stained with tears. I wasn't breathing properly; my breaths were more like hyperventilation. Seth held my head close to him as he tried to comfort me. After a while, I simply had to tell him.

"Seth," I started. "I'm going to Volterra."

"All right," he said. "I'm going with you."

Oh how I knew he was going to be difficult about this. "No, you're not."

"Of course I am," he said. "You think I'm going to let my reason for being out of my sight and into that of the _Volturi_? Really, Jasmine, you should know me better."

My lip stuck out in a slight pout, the way it always did when I argued. "I'm not going to risk both of our lives."

"If you go alone, you _are_ risking both our lives. Jasmine, if that evil Demitri or Caius get their hands on you, it'll surely be your end. Jasmine, you are my life. If you die, you'll take away my entire reason of being. Your death very easily means mine."

He smiled at me but his eyes were serious. I knew he meant it. If I went, I risked not only my life, but the life of the person I loved more than anyone else in the world. If I stayed, I could be safe, but the Cullens—my family—would perish and that was just terrible. They couldn't die for me and I couldn't cause Seth's death. He was still looking at me, his eyes intent. I knew how much he loved me and how serious he was about _both_ our lives being at stake, whether he went with me or not. He leaned down and kissed me and, in that second, I might've lost the entire argument. If I hadn't pulled away the instant I did, I would've let Seth come with me when I clearly needed to do this alone. I stared him straight in the eyes and gave him a definite answer.

"No," I said firmly, my hand still in his hair. He sighed.

"I hope you realize how much it hurts denying you what you want? Not only does it hurt by my own standards, but the imprinting makes it so much worse. The imprinter gives the object of his imprinting whatever she wants," he quoted. I laughed and sighed.

"Give up, then," I suggested.

"Never," he said firmly. "You go, I go."

"Ugh!" I screamed. "Why must you be so difficult?"

He smiled a breathtaking smile. "It's my job," he answered simply.

"Why don't we both just think about it?" I suggested, desperate to complete the plan that was formulating in my head.

Seth smiled. "Sure," he agreed.

I yawned, surprised that I was still tired. He laughed.

"Still tired, huh?" Seth asked me.

"Yeah, nightmares wear me out," I admitted.

"You should sleep," he said.

I shook my head. "The nightmares," I whispered. "I don't want to have any more." I looked down at my hands and fumbled.

"I'd imagine you wouldn't," Seth said. He took my hand and lifted me off the bed. "I guess you have a right to be tired," he said as we walked down the hallway. "It's five in the morning."

"Oh no," I murmured. "I didn't wake Leah or Sue, did I?"

"Nah," he assured me, ruffling my hair. "Those two sleep deeper than your average bear during hibernation." He chuckled. We were in the living room and I could see the darkness still pouring in from the outside.

"Couch not too hard for you?" he asked. I shook my head no and he motioned for me to sit next to him. I walked over and sat down.

"You're not tired?" I asked.

"No, actually. I guess your dream just gave me a lot to think about."

"I'm sure it did that to both of us." I grimaced and he smiled. I laid my head down on his lap and he bent forward to peck my forehead.

"Sleep, my angel," he whispered. I smiled as my eyes started to close. His hand gently stroked through my hair and caressed my cheek occasionally. I slept soundly with no fuss over dreams for hours and, when I woke, Seth's hand was resting on my shoulder and his eyes were closed. A barely visible smile was still placed on his face. I stood up, careful not to jostle him, and went to get a change of clothes. It was only then that I noticed Leah and Sue still hadn't awoken. It was a Saturday and ten in the morning, a perfect moment to enjoy sleep.

I dug in my bag in search for a pair of jeans and a shirt to wear when I felt my phone vibrating. A text message from Alice. I flipped open the phone and read it.

_Good morning, Jazzy. I see you just woke up. I don't want to frighten you, sweetie, but I had a vision. The Volturi will find out tonight and I want you to know how sorry I am that I didn't keep my promise. No, they will not accompany us back to Forks. You will be safe there, trust in that. And, Jasmine I'm so sorry, but none of us are coming back. I left money in your drawer back at the house were you ever to need it. There's also some in your bag, in case you haven't noticed. I hope you have a good life, Jasmine. Seth will take care of you, I don't need a vision to tell me that. Jasper and I love you dearly. Don't ever forget us._

I shut the phone. Tears were spilling over. My nightmare was becoming a reality. Without thinking, I changed into a sweatshirt and jeans, slung my bag over my shoulder, and dialed information on my cell phone.

"Hello?" a female voice asked.

"Hello, I need a taxi," I said firmly but quietly. She asked questions and I gave her answers. Half an hour later, a yellow cab was parked outside the house. I took money Alice had given me out of my bag and reached for the doorknob. Before I turned it, there was something I'd forgotten to do. Quickly, I penned a note to Seth explaining everything and begging him not to follow me. I folded it and left it next to him. I kissed him a quick goodbye and stepped out into the pouring rain, then into the cab. I told the driver where I was headed and paid him in advance. I fought back tears as I made my great escape.

**Author's Note: Just for kicks, I've decided to ask you all how old you think I am. I'm really just curious. I've had tons of people guess and I want to know what you guys, my readers, think. If you know, please don't ruin it for others! And I'm a morbidly curious person. shrugs Thanks for reading! You're all made of awesome!**


	22. Chapter 22

_**Seth's Point of View**_

I woke up after having dozed off for a while. I thought long and hard about Jasmine and I knew I couldn't possible let her go to face the Volturi alone. I'd tell her as soon as I found her, she wasn't on the couch where she'd fallen asleep. I went into the kitchen, hoping to find her with Leah.

"Morning, little brother," she said.

I rolled my eyes. "Morning, Leah."

"Have you seen Jasmine?" she asked. "I expected to wake up and find you both together but you were alone and her room was empty. Have any clue where she went?"

I might've sworn my heart stopped in that instant. I couldn't imagine Jasmine would've taken advantage of my being asleep to leave on a plane to Volterra. I went back to the couch only to find a white piece of folded paper. My name was scribbled on the front. With trembling hands, I opened it.

_Dearest Seth,_

_I'm sorry, Seth, but I had to leave. Alice sent me a message. The Volturi knows—or will know—about me and the Cullens are to be burned. I know I might be too late, but I had to try. If I don't make it back, I want you to know that I truly do love you. With my whole heart and soul I do. How terrible I feel that I couldn't spend more time with you. No matter where I go, I'll never forget about you, Seth Clearwater. You're the love of my life and it will stay that way. If this is goodbye, then so be it. Keep this to remember me by. I love you._

_Yours forever, alive or dead,_

_Jasmine Isabella Cullen_

I saw exactly the spots where her tears had landed while writing this to me. It seemed her hand had been shaking as well. Fighting back tears myself; I saw what she wanted me to keep in order to remember her. Enclosed in the letter was the seashell I'd given her the first day I told her I loved her.

It might've been seconds or hours, but I was running. I had gone full wolf and I was running. I knew where I was going. I was going to Volterra, Italy to save my reason for being. Jasmine wouldn't die. She would live, even if I had to take her place at the graveyard. I pushed my legs as fast as they would go, hoping I wasn't too late.

_**Jasmine's Point of View**_

I was able to bribe my way into getting on the next plane to Volterra. Alice had, for some reason, left exactly a million dollars in my wallet and I used it to my advantage. The plane had just landed and I was running as fast as I possibly could to make it to my family before the Volturi did. I touched my hand to my neck and felt as if a knife had just stabbed my heart when I remembered who I'd left behind to come here. My eyes blinded with tears, I kept running.

"Miss!" a man called from a car. "Do you need a ride?"

I stopped. I wasn't the fastest runner, maybe a car could get me there faster. I nodded and walked toward the sleek, black car. He opened the door for me and he was driving. I got a good look at his face and gasped. This man was a vampire, with gleaming red eyes.

"Sir," I said politely, "you know who the Volturi are, correct?"

He seemed stunned by my knowledge but nodded.

"They have my family, sir. The Cullens are in grave danger of being burned to death. And it's all my fault! I need to get to the Volturi's palace immediately!"

"How is this all your fault?" he asked.

So I told him, through tears. I told him about how I had been adopted into a family of vegetarian vampires. How they'd told me their secret and put their eternal lives in danger. He simply nodded all the way through. When I was finished, he seemed deep in thought.

"The Cullens, did you say they were?"

"Yes."

He gasped, turning to look at me. "Carlisle Cullen?"

I nodded.

"Ah, Carlisle. My old friend. We met in the seventeen hundreds, when he lived with the Volturi. He introduced me to his method but I didn't enjoy animal blood much. I find drinking from humans much more appetizing."

I gasped and cringed away from him. He laughed at my terrified expression.

"Oh, don't worry," he said. "I've fed off of many beautiful girls, but none of them as beautiful as you. It would be a shame to kill the beauty, don't you think?" He smiled revealing a mouth full of white, glistening teeth. I felt the blush coming to my cheeks. I still wasn't used to being called even pretty—let alone beautiful.

"I'm sorry, I've been rather rude, haven't I?" he said. He extended his hand to me and I took it.

"Thomas Henderson," he introduced himself.

"Jasmine Isabella Cullen," I said, shaking his frozen, pale hand.

"Jasmine Isabella Cullen," he repeated under his breath. "It suits you. A beautiful name for a beautiful girl."

He kissed my hand and released it. It didn't feel comfortable. This man's ice cold skin wasn't what I was used to. I'd much rather have Seth's warm hands around mine. The emptiness returned, bringing tears to my eyes. Thomas's finger came up and wiped away a tear. It still didn't feel right to me. I cringed. "Don't cry," he whispered. "We'll get to your family in time."

I nodded and he stared ahead at the road. I finally got a good look at the man sitting next to me.

His pale skin was exactly like I was used to. It was like marble. He had high cheekbones and looked like he might've been changed when he was about eightteen. His hair looked like brown slik, and, like all vampires, he was inhumanly gorgeous.

About a minute later, we came to a stop in front of a sewer. I wondered why we were here. I shrugged internally. If it would get me to Alice, Jasper, and the rest of the Cullens, it was worth it. I was about to open my car door, but Thomas was already there with my door opened and his hand extended to me. I ignored it which seemed to bother him but he didn't say anything about it."Thank you, Mr. Henderson," I said as he closed my door.

"Please," he said. "Call me Thomas."

"Thomas," I said, nodding.

I stood back as he pulled the top off of the sewer. He jumped in and I stared in awe.

"Don't worry," he said. "I won't let you fall."

I walked forward and let myself drop into the cold arms below. He carried me like a baby as he walked down the long tunnel that was the sewer.

"Put me down," I argued. I thrashed a bit to get him to put me down. He chuckled at my efforts.

"Don't be like that, beautiful," he said. His lips her almost at mine when he said this. I cringed away from him.

"Excuse me, Mr. Henderson," I said. "But I do _have_ a boyfriend."

"Is that so?" he mused. "Is he as handsome as I am?"

I decided to pretend I was in court. Speak the truth and nothing but the truth. "Even more so," I said. And it was the truth.

"Is that so?" he repeated. I nodded. "Is he a vampire?"

"No, actually," I said. "He's a werewolf."

"A _werewolf_!" he exclaimed, bemused. "Do they always make you smell so putrid?"

"He smells just fine to me," I said. I felt my lip stick out in a pout.

"You're cute when you're angry," Thomas said, his mouth again near mine.

"Thomas Henderson, I demand you put me down this _instant_!" I screamed. He laughed again and put me on my feet.

"So cute," he repeated. I crossed my arms and kept my head held high. We walked forward in silence, aside from my intakes of breath when Thomas attempted to touch my hand. I would just yank my hand away and walk forward quickly, with him chuckling behind. After some time, I heard screams of pain and agony. I knew who they belonged to.

"Alice!" I screamed, racing forward. I didn't care about anything anymore. I didn't care about anything besides Alice's pain. I walked into the same stone room I saw in my nightmare and screamed at the scene in front of me. It was so much worse than my nightmare. I was surprised it didn't make me faint.

Alice and Jasper were on the floor in pain. Jane—she was the same woman I'd seen in my dream—was laughing at their torment. Renesmee was being held in the arms of a man and Edward was at his side, being very still. His eyes met mine for a moment and he gasped.

"Silence!" Jane screamed at him. He shut his mouth abruptly and I mouthed "I'm sorry" at him. On the floor in front of Jane, were Rosalie, Emmett, Alice, Jasper, Carlisle, and Esme. Each of them were screaming in agony. Renesmee was merely crying and the man holding her had a devious smile upon his face.

"Don't cry, my darling," he said to her.

"Don't call me darling, Aro," Renesmee said back. So this was Aro. I couldn't stand the sight of him. He repulsed me.

I knew there was someone I was missing. Where was Bella? My eyes searched the room for her until I found her, standing very still. I was too happy to see that she wasn't screaming in agony to remember my nightmare.

"Bella!" I screamed running toward her. Her eyes were closed and she was shaking uncontrollably. That was the first time anyone noticed me. I heard several cries of my name in the background, but they were quickly replaced with yelps of pain.

That was when I dropped to the floor.

It was so much more painful than I'd dreamed. I started screaming, kicking, and crying. I thrashed on the floor and Jane's chuckled turned into hysterical laughter.

"Bella!" I screamed through my pain. "Bella! You can run! She can't hurt you!" I couldn't formulate words anymore. The pain was too much.

Jane snickered. "Oh, she can move, of course. The girl simply doesn't want to." She made her way over to Bella and patted her arm. "Isn't that right, Bella?"

"Stop hurting her, Jane," Bella had whispered. The pain that was inflicted on me next was even more painful then I remembered. I screamed and sobbed in pain.

"Fine," the one called Jane had said. "You leave me one option."

"No!" Bella screamed but it was too late. Edward and Renesmee cried out. Bella moaned in agony at seeing her family being hurt.

"Silence!" Jane had yelled toward Edward and Nessie but they couldn't help themselves. Their screams of agony became worse and worse, and, just like in my nightmare, it forced Bella to fall to her knees and sob, tearless.

"Stop crying you foolish girl," Aro said. "Your time is up, anyway. Come along."

Jane grabbed Bella by the wrists and pulled her into the darkness. The farther Jane went the more screams I heard.

"No!" I screamed. Everyone turned to look at me. Jane even stopped using her power on all of us in order to stare.

"Let them go," I said with as much force as I could. "They've done no harm. And neither have I. I have not blown your secret and I don't intend to. I won't be turned to a vampire, Alice has made her point on that, but I won't blow the secret."

"Aro," Alice started, "she will be turned into a vampire. I can assure you of that." Alice held her hand out toward Aro and he took it, smiling. I was startled. What was Alice trying to tell him?

"Ah," Aro said. "I see. So, this girl will be turned after her graduation, like Miss Isabella?"

Alice nodded. This was causing her more pain than Jane's power, I could tell.

"Yes," Alice said. "I saw this vision of her the moment we told her. Jasmine," she turned to me, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I—I was hoping you wouldn't want it. But since you do, your future is set." She hung her head and Jasper wrapped his arms around her.

"Well," Aro said. "We have some matters to discuss."

The Volturi and the Cullens spoke to each other while I remained unmoved with shock. I merely stared at the walls as I waited for everything to make sense. I felt a cold hand on my shoulder and Thomas's voice was soon in my ear.

"Jasmine," he said with a smile. I froze. "I believe you should thank me."

I turned around to face him. "Thank you, Mr. Henderson," I said. The next moment, the man was kissing me with his arms around me. I tried to push him away but he was too strong. He stopped and rested his chin on my shoulder. I was disgusted. His hand traced my back and I hated the feeling. The next second, something stabbed me in the back. I fell to my knees in pain. I started screaming.

"Jasmine!" a familiar voice screamed. The next thing I knew, strong, warm arms were around me and I heard vampires fighting to get to me. I wasn't sure what to do.

"Don't leave me," the familiar voice whispered in my ear. I wanted to tell him that I would hold on for him, but I couldn't move. In a few moments, everything went black and I couldn't feel or see anything.


	23. Chapter 23

_**Seth's Point of View**_

I dropped down into a sewer of Volterra. I'd followed Jasmine's scent all the way here. It wasn't long before I heard her voice. She sounded…angry?

"Put me down!" she argued with someone. It was only then that the repulsive aroma I'd learned to ignore wrapped itself around my nose. She was with a vampire? It wasn't one of the Cullens, I knew. This one smelled a lot worse.

"Don't be like that, beautiful," another, unfamiliar voice said. The bile rose in my throat. His voice was full of fake kindness. I was too tired to run, as much as I wanted to. I ran half way across the world, I couldn't possibly keep going.

"Excuse me, Mr. Henderson," Jasmine said. So, this was the bloodsucker's name. Henderson. Ew. "But I do _have_ a boyfriend." I smiled with self contentment. It was the first time she'd ever called me that.

"Is that so?" the Henderson guy mused. "Is he as handsome as I am?"

"Even more so," Jasmine replied.

"Is that so?" he asked again. "Is he a vampire?"

"No, actually," Jasmine replied with the politeness she was raised to have. I was impressed. I knew most girls might've socked the guy in the jaw by now. Or maybe she just knew it would break her hand. "He's a werewolf."

"A _werewolf_!" he exclaimed. "Do they always make you smell so putrid?"

"He smells just fine to me," Jasmine argued.

"You're cute when you're angry," he said simply. I fought back the urge to run and rip the fool to pieces.

"Thomas Henderson, I demand you put me down this _instant_!" Jasmine screamed. That's my girl.

Thomas friggin Henderson. Ugh. I'd have to kill this guy one day.

I heard a pair of footsteps on the ground. I knew by the sound that they belonged to a human. At least he'd put her down.

"So cute," Thomas said. My hands clenched to fists. Yes, I would definitely have to kill him one day.

I heard silence for a while. It calmed me. Thomas hadn't started talking to Jasmine again and I didn't hear the Volturi's voices. I just heard Jane's usual laughter. Who was she torturing now? If Jasmine was being hurt, I swore I'd—

A scream interrupted my thoughts. I couldn't believe it. The pain in that shriek plunged a dagger into my heart.

"Jasmine!" I screamed. I ignored the pain in my legs. I pushed them as fast as they could possibly go while I was in human form. It took me longer than I'd hoped.

I walked into a stone room and saw a vampire—Thomas Henderson, no doubt—kissing Jasmine. In his hand was a dagger. I was about to stop him but the dagger was already in Jasmine's back and she was on her knees in pain. Blood was pouring out of the wound in buckets. I scooped her up into my arms and Carlisle motioned for me to run.

"We'll hold them back!" he yelled after me. No doubt he was talking about the Volturi.

"Don't leave me," I whispered to the angel in my arms, knowing she probably couldn't even hear me. Then, I started running. I looked to my side and saw Alice. I saw no trace of thirst on her face. There was only sadness.

"She's losing blood!" Alice exclaimed.

"We need to get her to a hospital," I said.

"Nonsense." Carlisle was next to me. "I can do it myself. Seth, give her to me."

I kissed her forehead gently and watched as Carlisle ran at full speed to make her safe.

"Is she going to be okay?" I asked Alice. I hadn't stopped running, not for a second.

"She'll be fine," Alice assured me after a moment. "But…Seth? Will you be okay?"

"If she'll be okay, then so will I," I replied.

"I mean… that must have been painful for you. I can't possibly say how it felt to watch that dagger go into her back. But… I know it's nothing compared to what you must have felt. Seth," she put her hand on my arm, "you love her a lot more than Jasper and I do. I can see that."

"I felt as if that dagger had plunged straight into my heart, Alice," I sighed.

"I have to wonder, though," she said. "What'll happen to her when you imprint?"

"Alice," I said, "I already did. On Jasmine."

She gasped. "How did I not see this!?"

I shrugged. "Perhaps you can't see werewolves as well as you thought."

"But when?!" she asked, ignoring my statement.

I sighed. "We were back in La Push. I'd just told her that I loved her. She looked up at me and I felt it. She was the one, even more so than before."

I looked to my side to see her reaction. We'd both slowed to a walk, and my words had given Alice a spring in her step. She started clapping and smiling.

"Ooh!" she exclaimed. I couldn't say she was walking anymore. She was skipping contentedly like a five year old.

"What?" I teased.

"It just makes me so happy!" she squealed.

I laughed. "And Jasper?"

"Will be happy to see her happy," she answered simply.

"I hope you're right. I'm not ready to die quite yet."

"And…"

I sighed at her persistence. "And I don't want to die. Not when I have someone to live for."

She squealed again. I reached down and ruffled her spiky hair.

"Hey, no touching the hair," she said. "It costs more than your house.

I laughed. "Let's go."

And we started running again. Alice, of course, made it back to the sewer opening long before I did. She jumped out and I followed behind her.

"Where did Carlisle take her?" I asked.

"We rented a hotel, in case," she said. "He has his medical equipment there. He never travels without it."

"And how will we get there?" I asked.

She dangled a pair of keys in front of my face. "I stole it from that Henderson guy when he wasn't looking." She clicked a button and the lights of a black car flashed.

I laughed. "One Porsche wasn't enough?" I asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Nope," she said. I opened the car door and got inside. Alice was already in the driver's seat, putting the key in the engine. The streets of Volterra were empty that night. We managed to go at 180 miles per hour in the sleek, black car. In minutes, we were in front of a tall building.

I didn't care to look at the name. I just got out of the car and walked through the doors with Alice at my side. We took an elevator to the third floor and Alice lead me to a room. She swiped a card and was about to open the door.

"Alice, wait," I said.

"What?" She seemed confused.

"How serious is it?"

"I'm not sure what you mean."

"It is so serious that she might have to be…?"

"Oh!" Alice said. "No! Of course not!"

"Then…when?"

Alice sighed. "After her high school graduation."

I sighed. That gave her two years to be human. And it gave me two years to be with her like I usually would be. I reached for the doorknob myself and pushed the door open. I had to see Jasmine _now_.

The inside was large and open. The windows were drawn shut and the floor was stained with Jasmine's blood. I followed the trail to another door which I proceeded to open. Jasmine seemed to be asleep and Carlisle was working on giving her stitches.

"Is she going to be all right?" I asked.

Carlisle turned to smile at me. "She'll be fine, Seth," he assured me. "Jasmine did have some blood loss, but nothing that would handicap her. No worries."

I sighed in relief. "Thank you, Carlisle."

"Seth?" a new voice asked.

"Jasper?" I asked. I turned around and saw the entire Cullen clan standing in the doorway. They all looked exhausted but relieved.

"What are you doing here?" Jasper asked. It was then that Alice pranced into the room.

"He came to rescue the love of his life," she said, simply.

"The love of his life?" Jasper mused. "Is that so?"

"Yup!" Alice answered for me. "He imprinted on her!" She started clapping and squealing again.

Jasper was suddenly stiff. His eyes became wide and a murderous fire burned in them.

"Jasper," Alice said, "be happy for her. She loved Seth, too."

"Of course," Jasper said through clenched teeth. I almost laughed. Of course this would be what every father—adoptive or biological—was afraid of. Their daughter finding someone. I felt my mouth twitch.

Emmett and Edward, however, were less polite. Both were laughing hysterically at Jasper. I saw Rosalie wanting to laugh and Alice was giggling like a schoolgirl. Renesmee was hiding her amusement by hiding her face in Bella's hair. Bella herself was just rolling her eyes, pretending to find the others immature. I saw her lips pressed together, as if she was holding back laughter herself. I nodded at her telling her to go on ahead and she started laughing as well.

"Now," Esme said, "stop laughing at your brother." She smiled at me. "Let's all go into the living room and leave Carlisle to his work."

The Cullens filed out of the room. Emmett and Edward were still laughing, Jasper was still rigid, and Rosalie had let her laughter come out and was laughing along with Alice, Bella, and Nessie. Jasper didn't seem too happy with being laughed at but he dealt with it. I was about to walk out with the rest of them but I turned around to face Jasmine.

"May I?" I asked Carlisle. He understood what I meant and smiled at me.

"Go ahead," he said and turned back to his work.

I got down on my knees to see her face. I leaned in and kissed her lightly on her lips.

A second later, she slowly opened her eyes revealing my favorite blue green gems in the world.


	24. Chapter 24

_**Jasmine's Point of View**_

I woke with a warm feeling on my mouth. It was comforting and it felt a lot better than having that stupid Thomas kiss me involuntarily. I had no clue why the feeling comforted me. Hell wasn't supposed to be comforting. Yes, of course I was in hell. I was obviously dead and who knows what might've happened when I died. Were the Cullens killed? Did Seth stick to his word and kill himself? If either of these things happened, I would surely be sentenced to hell. I sighed internally. If there was a reasonable reason for going there, then it would be having been the death of such wonderful, loving people. As if to contradict my guess of my location, I felt cold hands on my back. The warmth came slowly away from my mouth and I slowly opened my eyes.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty," a voice chuckled. It was the one voice I needed to hear the most.

"Seth!" I exclaimed, almost jumping up. The only thing that held me back was a tugging sensation on my unnaturally numb back.

"What the…?" I started, bemused.

"Sorry," Carlisle said. "I didn't think the anesthesia would wear off so soon. I'm almost done."

"Done with what?"

"You needed stitches, Jasmine. That stab was pretty bad. I'm surprised you weren't hurt much worse than you were."

"Stitches? Stab?" I was extremely confused. "What did I miss?" I murmured.

"That Thomas Henderson guy stabbed you in the back."

The name sent shivers down my spine and made the bile rise in my throat. "I remember…"

"I hate him," Seth murmured.

"You're not the only one," I assured him.

I felt a bit more tugging at my back. Carlisle wiped something rancid smelling over the stitches.

"There," he announced. "You're fine now."

"Thanks, Carlisle," I said, turning around and giving my grandfather a hug.

"No problem," he said, carefully patting my back. I stood up and immediately wrapped my arms around myself.

"Why is it so freezing in here?" I asked.

Seth shrugged as he led me out of the cold room and into the living room. "Not sure."

"Jazzy!" Alice exclaimed, getting up from her seat on the sofa. She walked over with her arms extended and preceded to putting them around me. "I'm glad to see you up!"

"Hey, Alice," I said, hugging her tightly. I looked around myself. I only then noticed that I had no clue where the heck we were

"Er…where are we?" I asked.

"In a hotel room," Jasper answered. He looked wary and stiff. His eyes darted between Seth and I. What had I missed? "We're leaving back to Washington tonight."

I smiled in relief. I really didn't want to be in Volterra anymore.

"Jazzy," Rosalie said, "why don't you come and sit down? Relax a bit." She patted the seat next to her and Emmett. His arm was around her, as usual, and her legs were crossed. I guess the events that day hadn't ruffled them much.

Seth sat down next to me and put his left arm around my shoulders. I scooted as close as I could to him and put both my arms around his neck and laid my head on his chest. Jasper sat in the armchair closest to me and eyed Seth and me warily. I rolled my eyes. Of course Jasper would be the protective one in this situation.

"So, Seth," Jasper started, "what's this about imprinting?"

So Jasper knew. Poor Seth. I hated to have him in this situation. I imagined he might be a bit uncomfortable in telling Jasper _how_ it happened, but his words showed no sign at all of nervousness.

"We were on a cliff back in La Push," he said. "I'd just told her I loved her. She looked up at me and I saw straight into her eyes. Then, I knew she was the one."

"Is that so?" Jasper asked. "And, Jasmine, what did you say?"

Despite the fact that loving Seth was the easiest thing I'd ever done, my heart pounded as I said the words to Jasper. I imagined this must be any girl's reaction when telling their father anything boy related.

"I told him how I felt," I said, looking Jasper straight in the eye. As the words came out, my heart slowed as I remembered the best moment of my life. "I told him I loved him."

Jasper's expression was not what I'd expected. His eyes had warmth I'd never seen. They mirrored Alice's eyes perfectly. They both seemed like they were extremely happy for me. I was glad. I really didn't want to go through fights with Alice and Jasper over something like this.

"Welcome to the family, Seth," he said with a smile.

"Very subtle, Jasper," Alice said, rolling her eyes.

"What?" he said, looking up at her. "I'm happy for our little Jasmine."

"Enough, enough!" Emmett protested. "I'd rather go through Jane's torture again then have this get any mushier!"

Rosalie rolled her eyes and smacked Emmett in the shoulder. "Stop it, Emmett! Be happy for Jazzy. Even Edward isn't being this immature."

It was the first time I looked over at Edward. I hadn't noticed him standing next to Seth.

"Glad to see things work out for you, man," Edward said.

Seth snickered. "You stole my line."

Edward shrugged. "It fit the moment and I'm not exactly feeling so creative."

"Where's Jacob?" Nessie asked. I started wondering too. I hadn't seen him in the room with the Volturi today.

"The mutt is probably back in Forks by now," Rosalie murmured.

"He went back?" Nessie asked.

"When we got back here, he went on his way to the airport. The mongrel tried to stay but I really didn't want him here," Rosalie snorted.

"Rosalie!" Renesmee whined.

"Oh hush," she said sharply. "You'll see your puppy soon enough."

Renesmee stuck her tongue out at Rosalie. Bella took out her cell phone, flipped it open, and glanced at the time.

"We better get going," she said. "Our flight leaves in an hour."

Each of the Cullens grabbed their only suitcase and headed out the door. Seth put his arm around my waist and we walked out behind them.

The moments between the time we left the hotel and the time we boarded the plane went by uneventfully. Renesmee spent almost the entire time talking to Jacob on the phone and her words had eventually become a buzzing sound in the background. Seth didn't leave my side the entire way.

Our seats on the plane were, unsurprisingly, first class. Rosalie and Emmett sat in the front, then Carlisle and Esme, Bella, Edward, and Nessie, Seth and me, and Alice and Jasper in the row right across from us. Alice protested when Jasper wanted her to take the window seat so he could take the isle seat, but eventually lost the argument. He probably wanted to be as close as possible to Seth and me. I rolled my eyes. Typical dad.

"All right, I have to go now… I miss you too! … Our flight's taking off in a few minutes… See you soon! … Love you, too… Bye." Renesmee finally hung up her phone and nestled into her seat. I stared out the window as the plane lifted into the sky.

"Seth?" I asked.

"Yeah?" he answered, turning his back to a very nosey Jasper and faced me.

"I told you to stay in La Push."

"And I didn't listen."

"But _why_?!" I groaned. "Do you realize that if you were dead because of me, I would've gone to hell?"

"I highly doubt that. No one like you belongs there." He sighed heavily. "What would I have done without you? I can't live without you in my life, Jasmine. Please, see that."

"I see it," I said. "I just don't see the sense in it. I'm just me."

"Yes," he agreed. "You are just Jasmine. And I couldn't ask for anything better. You're the sweetest, prettiest, most thoughtful person I've ever met. Just Jasmine isn't as bad as you think it is."

I rested my head on his shoulder. "Thanks, Seth," I whispered.

"Of course, Jasmine," he whispered. I yawned.

"Tired?" he chuckled.

"I haven't a clue why. I've done nothing but sleep lately."

"Not exactly true," he disagreed. "You've been having some pretty long days. Sleep, my angel. Sleep."

I put my arms around his neck again and closed my eyes. Minutes later, I fell into a much wanted, peaceful sleep.


	25. Chapter 25

I woke to feel someone shaking me gently.

"Jasmine, Jasmine, it's time to get up. The plane just landed."

"What?" I said, slowly opening my eyes.

"Our plane just landed, silly, now wake up." Seth was smiling when I looked up at him.

"Oh," I said, understanding. Seth pulled me up by the hand and we walked off the plane. I giggled as I saw the flight attendant's faces when they took in the Cullen clan. Their eyes were wide with fright, it seemed.

"Anyone need a ride home?" Leah was the first person I saw when we got off the plane.

"I suppose Jasmine would need a ride," Carlisle said. "Unless you'd like to travel by vampire?"

"Um…" I gulped. "I'll pass on that one."

Carlisle laughed. He hooked arms with Esme and Emmett and Rose did the same. Nessie walked in the middle of Bella and Edward and started walking.

"Coming, bro?" Emmett asked Jasper.

"We're coming!" Alice urged as Jasper was about to speak. She grabbed his hand and pulled him forward.

"Don't be such a baby," she murmured. "Jazzy'll be fine."

"If you say so," Jasper said, turning his head slightly back to peek at Seth, Leah, and me. I gave him a smile and he turned away, ashamed of having been caught.

"Let's _go_ already!" Leah whined. "I'm tired of just standing here!"

Seth chuckled. "So eager to get to the Cullens' house, Leah?"

Leah rolled her eyes and we started walking. "If it means sleep, then yes, Seth. I am very excited to get to a vampire infested crypt."

"Let's go then," I said, rolling my eyes at Leah. In a few minutes, we stepped out the doors of the airport. It was raining outside.

No surprise there.

I decided to take advantage of the unusually warm rain. I brought the hood of my sweater down to my shoulders and turned my face up to the rain. Leah walked in front of me and got into the driver's seat of the Vanquish. Seth was about to walk straight past me but I reached out and grabbed his hand.

"Have this one moment with me," I whispered, my head still upturned.

"We have all the time in the world," he whispered coming up behind me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his chin on my right shoulder.

"I have a feeling," I said, "that we might not have as much time as we think we do."

"You might've been right about a lot of things, Jasmine," Seth said. "But I know you're wrong about this one. Our time will never end."

"That does sound nice," I admitted. "I just can't help but feel that something's gonna happen."

Seth chuckled and spun me around to face him.

"You _are_ Alice's niece, aren't you?" he teased.

I rolled my eyes. "Obviously," I said.

"If we really don't have much more time together, which we do," he said, "let's make this moment last forever."

And, there in the parking lot of the airport, he kissed me in the rain like he had that day on the beach. I was instantly grateful that Alice had dragged Jasper the other way. I needed this moment. No matter what he said, I knew Seth and I didn't have much more time together. Something was going to come between us. It wasn't just a feeling. It was a premonition. I was Alice's niece, after all.

"Ugh!" Leah groaned from the car. She'd rolled down the window and had, probably, caught half of that. "Stop it, both of you!"

Seth and I turned to face Leah. His arms were still wrapped around me, hugging me to him, and my arms were around his neck. We both smiled.

"Get in the car," she said. Seth kept one arm around me and we walked to get in the other side. Leah rolled her eyes and ducked her head back inside. She rolled up the window in order to keep the rain outside.

"You guys _really_ need to work on the whole public displays of affection thing," Leah said as she backed out of the parking spot. "Principal Keller doesn't tolerate things like that. If you want to stay on his good side, better break that habit before you start school next month."

School? I was starting school? When? Where? How? _Why?_ My face became blank. I'd never gone to school…ever. Why did Alice never tell me things?

"What happened to Principal Gorgeman?" Seth asked.

Leah shrugged. "Heard he got mauled by a bear this summer. Poor guy's dead, all I know."

"I'm starting school?" I asked.

"Alice didn't tell you?" Seth asked, completely discarding the fact that his old principal was killed from his mind. "Thought you knew."

"I had no clue," I admitted. "Which high school do the Cullens go to?" If they did go to high school. They were all over a hundred years old, but I doubted any of them were entering cemeteries in September.

"They're starting at the La Push high school, actually," Seth said. "Their last high school years were at Forks High. That was three years ago so surely there are still people there who will notice that they haven't been aging. The treaty became mush a few years ago when Jake imprinted on Nessie so—"

"The treaty?" I asked, cutting him off.

"A treaty between the Cullens and the wolf pack. It said that the Cullens had to, firstly, not hunt humans and, secondly, not cross over to our land."

"I can see how Nessie and Jake dissolved that plan," I said.

"Exactly," Leah said, nodding her head. "So now, we're gonna have bloodsuckers and a leech lover at our school. _Great_. Just _great_."

"Shut up, Leah," I teased.

"Fine," Leah said. "You know, you're actually not that bad. Aside from the fact that you always reek of vampire, I really have no problem with you."

"Thank…you?" I wasn't sure if I should be insulted or flattered. Leah turned her head and laughed at my grimace.

"Now, let's see how fast this baby can _go_!" Leah stomped on the gas pedal. I clutched the seat for dear life as we sped down an empty street at two hundred five miles an hour. It was the most illegal thing I'd ever done. Leah seemed to know exactly what she was doing, it still scared the living death outta me.

"Seth?"

"Yeah?"  
I gulped. "We're gonna die."

"I bet we are," he said. "Leah, would it kill you to slow _down_?!"

"Yes," she said sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes. "No, it won't. But it _will_ kill us if you keep going this fast! Now slow down!"

"Fine." Leah's foot gently pulled away from the pedal and hit the brakes lightly. The car returned to a normal fifty miles per hour in a matter of seconds.

"Happy?" Leah said, turning to glare at me.

"Extremely so," I said, unshaken by her meanness.

Blue and red lights flashed from the top of a car as it passed by us going the other direction on the highway.

"You should be _so_ happy we did not get caught, Leah," I said, turning back to watch the police car until it disappeared from my sight.

"Pft. I've gotten caught a bunch of times, Jazzy," she said. "Yet, do I have a single ticket?" She shook her head in response to her own question.

"And that's possible…how?" I asked, bewildered.

"I've been lucky. Only guy cops have stopped me before. I enjoy flirting my way out of things."

"All right then." I knew when I'd heard too much.

"Be grateful I'm not telling Mom on you," Seth joked.

"You better not!" Leah said, reaching to the backseat and smacking her brother on the arm. "I finally passed my driver's test. I don't want her to confiscate my license."

"Not like you go anywhere," Seth retorted, smiling.

"Whatever." Leah couldn't find a way to argue further.

"I love you," Seth whispered in my ear after a moment of silence.

"You know how I love you," I said. He pressed his lips to the top of my head and sighed.

"Forever," he said.

"Forever," I agreed.

My pulse started dancing and I felt the thumping of my heart increase in speed. Seth put his hand over my heart and felt the pounding increase even more. He smiled as if it pleased him.

"I love that," he said, confirming my hypothesis. "I'll enjoy them while I can."

"Wha—" I was about to ask him what he meant but Leah pulled into the Cullens' driveway and interrupted my question.

"How slow are you people?" Emmett said through the open car window.

"Not all of us have super speed, Emm," I snapped. Leah climbed out of the car and Seth went right after her. He offered me his hand and I took it. He pulled me out and we went up the walk—hand in hand—and into the Cullen house.

"Welcome home," Alice said, taking my hand out of Seth's and pulling me toward the couch.

"Let me guess," I said. "You wanna talk?"

Alice laughed. "I _told_ you guys we were related," she said put one arm around me.

"I don't need to be psychic to know that," I said, rolling my eyes. I sat down next to her on the sofa. By this time, I could guess what this conversation was going to be about.

"Jasmine," Alice started, hesitantly. "I'm sure you're wondering about the whole…_immortality_," she forced the word out, "situation."

I knew it.

"Of course I'm wondering," I admitted.

"What are you wondering?" Jasper asked.

"Well, let's see," I said, pretending to think deeply about something. "Let's start with a simple question. _Why did you lie to me!?_"

**Author's Note: Hola everybody! So sorry to keep you guys waiting so long! Apparently, my teacher doesn't believe in lives outside of school. -.- I'm wondering you guys' opinions on a couple of things. The first thing is this: do you people think that Jasmine's story should be one long story or should I make different parts to it? (vote on my profile ) The second thing is just for fun. What do you think my age is? I'm just curious as to what people think. Anyways, thank for reading!**

**You Are All Made Of Awesome**

**April**


	26. Chapter 26

Alice stared at me, her eyes full of apology.

"Believe me, Jasmine; I had to lie to you about this. I'm sorry." She put one cold hand on my leg and I—very rudely—pushed it off.

"I don't want your apologies," I said, coldly. "I want an answer." I hated doing this to Alice, talking to her this way, but my anger ruled over practicalities at the moment. My hands clenched to fists as I awaited her response.

"Well?" I said impatiently when she didn't answer.

"I—I wanted you to think you had more options than you did." Pain filled her eyes fas she said this. My fists loosened and guilt overwhelmed me. No, this wasn't Jasper using his power to make me feel bad. This was me realizing how pathetic I was being. I dropped my head, ashamed.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I'll listen." I looked up through my lashes at Alice and Jasper's faces. I didn't care enough to ask where Carlisle, Esme, and the others had gone. I was only aware of Jasper and Alice sitting in front of me and of Seth sitting as close to me as possible with one arm around my shoulders. I could tell he hadn't wanted to leave me now. After all, this involved his life as much as it did mine.

"When I had the vision," Alice started, eyeing me as if expecting an interruption. I kept my mouth firmly closed. "I knew I had to keep it from you. I told my family, yes, but they all swore to keep it a secret. After all, none of us want an undead life for you."

Ah, so Bella had betrayed me. Great, just great.

"I figured that, maybe, just maybe, if I didn't tell you, you might give up on the idea. You'd go on with your life, forgetting that you'd ever wanted to be one of us. Of course, I always planned to stay close to you, but far enough so that you wouldn't have second thoughts about staying human. You must realize, Jasmine, that we only want what's best for you."

"I realize that, Alice," I said. "But maybe I have different ideas about what's best for me. Staying with my family forever, that's what I want. Alice, Jasper…that is what _I _think is best." I put my hand on Alice's leg like she had to me. I half expected her to push it off just like I had. But instead, she put her hand over mine. Jasper added his hand and smiled at me. Seth's hand stroked my cheek. Looking up at Seth's face, I saw him smiling a sad smile. Here came the guilt wave again. Of course, my heartbeats would be more precious than gold to him now.

I noticed then that Bella hadn't betrayed me. No, she related to me more than any of the other Cullens. Bella knows how the guilt feels. She had been, after all, in my place not very long ago. I made a mental note reminding me to thank her for being so understanding about everything.

"So…it's settled?" I asked. "After graduation?"

"Any time afterwards," Alice said. I could tell there was a pronounced difference between the two. I could also tell that Jasper was getting ready to explain it.

"After your high school graduation, Jazzy," he said. "If you're still not ready, you can always have a few more human years. The Cullens aren't going anywhere."

"So, I can be changed when I'm ready but I have to be ready _after_ graduation?" I clarified.

"That's right," Alice said, ruffling my hair.

Now that my mortality was officially limited, there was another question I was simply dying—if you'll excuse my choice of words—to ask.

"I'm going to school?" I asked.

"Oh! I can't believe I forgot to tell you!" Alice fretted. "Yes, all of us—with the exception of Carlisle and Esme—are starting school at the La Push high school next month. Isn't that exciting?" She smiled a bright, playful smile and giggled childishly. "You did have lessons at the…er…orphanage, didn't fyou?"

"Of course I did. This is going to be so different, though! I've nevfer been to real school! What's it like?" Alice's excitement was piling on to mine. School! I could barely believe it. Real, actual school!

"Nothing very special, Jazzy," Seth said. "Now calm down! Jeez, I've seen five year olds on Halloween less hyperactive."

"Is there anything I need to know?" I asked. Surely, Alice knew I wasn't talking about classes. I needed to know what my story was. I simply couldn't go walking into the school saying, "Hello! My name is Jasmine Isabella Cullen! Alice and Jasper adopted me and, it turns out, the Cullens are a family of vampires that feed off of animal blood! My boyfriend's a werewolf, in case you were wondering. Now, where can I sign up for prom committee?" Yeah, no.

"Firstly, Jasper and Rosalie are twins. Rosalie and Jasper Hale, got it?" Alice eyed me as if I should have a pen and paper out taking notes. I nodded. "Carlisle and Esme adopted us all when we were about three years old. We've been living with them ever since. Bella has to keep her last name so that's Bella Swan, all right?" Again, I nodded. "And since everyone thinks we're adopted, you, Edward, Emmett, and I go by Cullen. We grew up with Jacob and Seth, therefore, we met Leah. Think you can remember all that?"

I gulped. "Sure hope so…"

"Oh you will," Jasper assured me.

"I thought Alice was the psychic, Jazz."

He shrugged. "Don't need to be psychic to know that," he said, quoting me.

"Where's Nessie going?" I asked. I hadn't heard Alice mention anything about her.

"Oh, her growing has slowed so she's growing at an almost normal rate now. Since she looks to be about twelve, she's starting middle school."

"And her story is…?"

"She is Esme's niece. Her parents just died so she's orphaned and Esme agreed to take her in." Alice nodded brilliantly.

"Is there anyone else who…knows?" I asked.

"Yes, the rest of the werewolves know," Seth said.

"And… how many werewolves are there?"

"Not many," he said. "Well… not many at the school, anyway. Most of them are out of high school by now. The only ones that are still there are Jacob, Embry, Quil, Collin, Brady, Leah, and me."

"What happened to Paul?" Jasper asked. "He didn't finish his senior year at high school, I'm sure."

"Oh he didn't," Seth answered. "He dropped out. Didn't think that he could be a werewolf and a student. Not with _his_ temper." Seth chuckled along with Jasper and Alice.

"What does temper have to do with anything?" I asked, confused. I hated never knowing what anyone was talking about…

"If any of us lose our tempers, we burst into wolf form, no matter where we are. It hardly ever happens to any of us anymore, but Paul is an exception. His temper rages out of control at the slightest thing, so imagine him at school where he fails out of every subject and his teachers hate him. We all thought it safer for him to drop out and take some anger management classes."

"It's for the best," Jasper said. "Now, you might want to go to bed, Jasmine. I'm sure you're tired."

"I'm not," I said. "I think I've slept more than I needed to throughout the past few days."

"But your body is probably exhausted," Alice said. "You should at least go lie down."

I sighed, defeated. "All right." I stood and made my way to the staircase.

"Where do you think you're going without saying good night to your dad?" Jasper teased, opening his arms. I rolled my eyes playfully and ran into his arms.

"Night, Dad," I said.

"And your mom?" Alice said.

"Night, Mum," I said, hugging my aunt-slash-mom-slash-vampire.

"Coming, Seth?" I asked. Seth looked at Alice and Jasper as if awaiting approval. Alice smiled at him and he stood up.

"Coming," he said.

Upstairs, I went straight into my room and flopped onto the bed. The sweats I had on would be good enough for sleep if I ever got to that part. I really wasn't tired.

"Trying to sleep?" Seth asked, closing the door as he came into my room. The moonlight created light shadows on the floor and bed as he came to sit beside me. He lied down on his back with one arm extended to the side. I lied down next to him and rested my head on his arm. I turned onto my side to be able to see his face better. I saw that he was staring at me, too. As his eyes bore into mine, I melted.

"I don't think sleep is even possible now," I said. "Do you realize that I've spent the majority of the week sleeping?"

"I guess that's true," he said. "But you really deserve more sleep than you gotten, my little angel. You've been having some hard days."

"Why do you call me 'angel'?" I asked. "I'm not so special that I deserve to be called so." Seth laughed at my grimace and pecked my forehead.

"You're right," he said. "You are so much more special than that. In fact, you put an angel to shame."

"I love you," I reminded him.

"Best three words you could say to me," he said.

He kissed me again. His mouth was hot, even for a werewolf. I inhaled deeply and tried to preserve the moment. I couldn't quite grasp the fact that he loved me. It was more of a miracle than anything.

"Seth!" Leah's voice boomed from downstairs. Seth pulled away from my and rolled his eyes.

"Ignoring…" he murmured.

"SETH!" Leah screamed again.

"Go ahead," I said, releasing him. His lips swept across my forehead before he stood up and left the room. I stared up at the ceiling when an unnatural, unwanted wave of drowsiness swept over me.

_Jasper… _I groaned in my head. I knew he was using his stupid power on me. I might've said it out loud so he could hear my complaint, but I was too involuntarily tired to open my mouth. My last memory before complete blackness was cold arms around me and a forest around me. The trees were moving so fast, it was like a movie put on fast forward. I might've started protesting, but aside from being too fatigued to move, I knew the chances of it being a dream were high. Until I heard a voice that was too real to be a dream.

"JASMINE!" Alice's voice cried in horror. It sounded as if it came from thousands of miles away, but it was still barely loud enough for me to hear. That was when I knew I wasn't dreaming anymore. I heard a chuckle that was sickeningly familiar.

_Thomas Henderson…_ Even thinking the name made me sick to my stomach. I tried to find the strength to scream, to thrash, to cry, but the drowsiness came down harder and stronger like a boulder, crushing me into oblivion.

I'm dead.


	27. Chapter 27

I woke who knows how much later to feel myself lying on something cold—not vampire cold, but still cold—and flat. A strange, iron-like scent was all around me but I couldn't put a name to it. I felt light headed and sick. What had happened?

"Ah, you're up," a terrible voice said. "I thought you were going to miss dinner, Jasmine. It is very impolite to keep someone waiting. That isn't how you were raised."

A figure immersed from the darkness around me. As he stepped into the dim light, I caught sight of Thomas Henderson's face, his red eyes gleaming. It was only then that I understood where I was. I was lying on my back on a dining table. So _I_ was dinner. I gulped. My forehead started to sweat and my heart's pace skyrocketed.

"We best get on with it," Thomas said, bending slowly to pick something up off the floor. A knife was in his hands. A high pitched whimper escaped my mouth and I instantly regretted it. A moment later, Thomas's evil face was close to mine and he held the knife at my neck.

"What was that?" he asked. "Did you say something?"

I swallowed hard and shook my head with as much force as I could manage.

"That's what I thought," he said, pulling the knife slowly away from my neck and standing upright. "It's too bad your vampires couldn't be here to watch their little pet get slaughtered."

_Slaughtered_? Couldn't he just make it quick?

"Sorry for going back on my word," he whispered in my ear.

"What are you talking about?!" I screamed.

"Don't you remember, Jasmine?" he asked. "When we first met? I told you I wouldn't kill you—said you were too pretty to waste. I'm usually a man of my word, but I couldn't help myself."

"Why?!" I screamed. "Why are you doing this to me?! What do you get out of my death?!"

"Why don't I start from the beginning?" I knew he wasn't waiting for an answer so I kept my mouth firmly shut and held back the tears of rage and fright that were threatening to spill over.

"You see, Jasmine," he said, "I utterly despise it when I don't get what I want. I helped you for a reason back in Volterra. When I said you were the prettiest of them all, I meant it. I wanted you, Jasmine, but not to kill—no, never to kill. That was never my intention. And, well, when you rejected me—_me_!—and said you had a boyfriend, it was hurtful." He touched his hand to his frozen heart as if in great sorrow. "So, I decided that, if I can't have you, no one can."

And before I could blink, he was beside me again, pushing the edge of the sharp knife into the palm of my hand. I screamed in agony as the blade broke the skin. He moved the blade sideways, making a deep, wide wound. I screamed.

The smell of blood didn't usually make me dizzy, but so much of it was pouring out of my hand and the smell was overwhelming. I felt like I might've upchucked at any moment. I peeked up at Thomas, his red eyes dancing with thirst. I had to give him some credit—he had a lot better self control than I'd imagine he would. I'd think that most vampires might've attacked by now.

"Beautiful," he said, inhaling my scent. He crouched down and put his lips to the wound on my hand. I felt my blood rushing out of my body and into his mouth, quenching his thirst. I continued to shriek as loud as my lungs allowed.

My only hope now was that someone—anyone—was close by and heard me before. Thomas stood back up and tightly tied a rope around my mouth. It cut into my skin and I moaned in pain. Tears welled up in my eyes and I bit my lip to keep them from overflowing.

Thomas's eyes were dancing as he lowered his head for another filling. The blood draining from my body, I felt even more lightheaded than before. I knew it wouldn't be long before I was knocked unconscious and drained of life.

This meant I would never see my family again. I would never go on another shopping trip with Alice and Rose. Never again have long talks with Bella or Renesmee. I would never get the chance to tell Jasper that he's the best dad in the world, I wouldn't get to see Carlisle or Esme, never be able to hug Uncle Emmett again, and I'd not get a chance to see Edward's smiling face again. And, of course, there are my wolf friends. Jake and Leah, I'd miss them too. I forced myself to think the last name. I couldn't believe I'd be leaving Seth. I loved him more than anyone else in the world, and now I have to leave him. My only hope is that my dying won't kill him, because then _I _would kill him, and I cannot leave this world knowing I did that. My human years, my future immortal years—they're all gone now. I wish I could at least say that Alice got what she wanted. But no, I haven't a chance at heaven. One who causes the sorrow of the best, kindest family in the world doesn't belong there.

Was it possible that there was any blood left in my body? My once light tan skin was a shade away from being vampire pale. My head ached insanely and the world around me was spinning.

"How much destruction can you cause for her in a day?" The male's voice was filled with anger and sorrow; it was also the voice of an angel. So I _was_ dead. Oh crap. That would explain, not only the miracle of a voice, but the fact that I didn't feel my blood rushing out of my body anymore. At least there was a slight chance this might be heaven. There was an angel here, wasn't there?

"Jasmine!" This voice was different, it was female, still an angel, though. She sounded sorrowful and angry, but the voice was still magical and kind. Yes, this was definitely heaven.

Someone evil chuckled. "Ah, care to join her, Alice?" That voice proved something to me: this was hell.

I was afraid to open my eyes. What would I see? What would I feel? Do I have to open my eyes to start the burning? Would I see flames or darkness or the people I left behind? Which would be worse seeing? These questions entangled themselves inside my head, giving me more pain. The pain in my hand was even bigger than before and it repeated itself on my other hand, my arms, and legs. How much blood had I lost? One more question to add to the growing stack.

Or maybe I wasn't dead. Maybe the miracle voice was who I thought it was. Just the thought of Seth being here drove me insane with happiness. And the female voice… oh if Alice was here! But, if they were here, I didn't want them hurt on my account.

A moment later, strong, warm arms wrapped around me and hot lips pressed to my ear.

"Jasmine, Jasmine…" a silky sweet voice whispered. "Are you okay, my angel?"

"Seth?" My voice was barely coherent. I doubted anyone heard me.

"Ah, so _you're_ the boyfriend." Thomas smirked. "Do you realize you're the reason why she is in this condition?"

Seth's arms tightened around me.

"Let's go, Alice," he said, turning away from Thomas. He started to run, Alice at his side.

"We need to get her home soon," Alice said. "Carlisle can—"

"You didn't think I'd get you go so soon." Thomas was in front of us, blocking our exit.

"Move, Henderson," Alice said. A growl ripped from her throat and it was easy to see that she wasn't playing around. Her eyes were blacker than midnight, her fingers looking like claws.

"Why should I?" he said, leaning against the wall and brushing his fingers on his shirt.

"You are testing my limited patience," Seth growled. "Now move out of the way."

"Hmm… No." Thomas leaped at Seth, teeth bared. I screamed and lifted my arms to try and prevent the attack, to no avail. Alice, however, was faster than him. She had us out of the way before he was off the ground. She held him up against the wall, teeth threatening to cut through his skin. Alice might've been a lot smaller, but she was also a lot stronger. Maybe it was the animal blood…

I wasn't sure what it was that happened next. It all happened so fast, it was a blur to my eyes. The next thing I knew, Thomas had his teeth in Alice's arm and Alice was screaming in pain. The venom… it was so strong, it could hurt her, too.

Another blur flew by and I saw Jasper, lifting his injured wife off the floor and Uncle Emmett pinning Thomas to the ground.

"Give her to me," Renesmee said, popping out of no where and holding her arms out to Seth.

"Can you hold her?" he asked, his voice full of panic. The pain was becoming unbearable, but I didn't want to scream, I didn't want to cause Seth pain by being in pain. But I couldn't help it. A painful yelp escaped my throat and my deeply cut arm twitched, making me scream. A bad move, I informed myself. Thomas's head turned to me and, somehow, he managed to push Emmett off of him. He had me in his arms in less than a quarter of a second.

"You weren't about to take the guest of honor away, were you?" he asked sinisterly. He leaned his head down quickly and his teeth, though they didn't exactly sink into my throat, pulled the skin and revealed yet another large wound. My shriek that followed was bloodcurdling, I couldn't even believe it came from me. The blood loss was immense and excruciatingly painful. I knew he was drinking from my throat, I felt it as a large wave of darkness pulled over me.


	28. Chapter 28

_**Seth's Point of View**_

Staring at Jasmine's bleeding, almost lifeless body in his hands, I lost it.

Anger and pain boiled up inside me and sand colored fur erupted from my skin. In a matter of seconds, I'd gone full wolf. It was the fastest morph I'd ever done.

With Henderson distracted by my sudden phase, Alice took Jasmine from his arms. I prayed silently for my angel's safety. If anything happened to her, it would eternally destroy me. If she died, I would kill myself the moment I found out. At least then I could go with her to the other side. Jasmine was my life so if she died, so did I.

_It's over, Henderson_, I growled in my head as a snarl escaped my mouth. I leapt and landed with my paws pinning him to the ground. Using every pinch of strength, he tried to squirm away from me, but even vampire force wasn't strong enough to keep me from killing him.

I leaned down and bit at his arm. It came off in once piece in my mouth. Before I could blink, Alice and the rest of the Cullens—aside from Renesmee, Bella and Carlisle—were in the room.

"Let me finish him," Emmett growled.

And so the torment began. Each and every one of us aided in the destroying of the demon. When all his screams were done and his body dismembered, I changed back to human and dug a lighter out of the pocket of my pants. I flicked it on and very slowly put the fire to one pale, ice cold, and evil hand. Repeating the gesture with every single part of him, I felt self contentment, and still more pain. I needed to get back to see Jasmine.

"We'll stay back and separate the ashes," Rosalie whispered. She motioned to Emmett, Edward, and Esme. Their movements became a blur until they started moving so fast, I saw nothing at all.

"We need to get back," I said desperately. I felt my face twist into a pained expression. Alice studied my face for a second before starting to run, Jasper behind her. I pushed my human legs faster and faster until I was going faster than Alice herself.

Thomas had been keeping Jasmine locked in a small, steel room. It was built into a rock of about the same color in the forest, not far from the Cullen house. The idiot.

I burst through the glass doors and found Carlisle working silently over Jasmine and Bella comforting Renesmee as she sobbed.

"Renesmee, calm down," Jasper said, sitting next to her. "I can feel your stress coming off in waves."

"I'm—sorry," she choked out. "I'm just—scared. Seeing—her—like that…" Nessie broke into more hysterics and I fought back the tears I knew were coming.

Seeing Jasmine like that… mangled, cut, bruised… it emotionally killed me. Every single cut in her skin, they all repeated themselves in my heart. I bit my lip hard as a single tear escaped my eyes. I dared to look over at my angel, lying face down on a table with Carlisle working over her. Was it possible that I had come so close to losing her twice within the last two days?

Her body was drenched in her own, dried blood. The gash that was once on her next, though, was closed and barely visible. The same went for her other injuries. She was breathing slowly but evenly. Aside from the blood and slightly paler skin, Jasmine looked beautiful and peaceful. She barely even looked like she'd gone through the trauma of her life that day.

"Its okay, Seth," Alice said, coming up and putting her cold hand on my back. She stared down at her adopted daughter with sad, yet, hope filled eyes. "She'll be waking up any minute now."

"Can you tell me when, exactly?" I asked. She smiled at me.

"I can only do so much," she said sheepishly.

"Sorry. I'm just so anxious. I… I love her too much."

"I know you do, Seth." Alice looked again at Jasmine then back at me. "You should sit down, try and relax."

"Maybe I should…" I said. In a millisecond, Alice was on my other side with a chair in her hands. She angled it toward Jasmine and motioned for me to sit.

"Thanks," I said.

"No problem," she said in her perky little voice. Alice went to sit with Jasper on the sofa and looked at Bella that was holding a still frightened Nessie.

"Carlisle, do you know this…this…" I forced myself to say the leech's name, "Thomas Henderson?"

"Sadly, I do Seth," he said. With a syringe, he was injecting more blood into Jasmine's body. I imagined she'd need it after all that blood loss. "I met him during my early years with the Volturi. His power—the ability to make anyone sleep—seemed very useful to Aro so he kept him with us for a while. Thomas seemed nice enough. He was actually one of my best friends. Though he never understood why I chose to drink animal blood, he respected my decision to try and be more civil.

"Something did happen, though, that caused him to be kicked out of the Volturi. You see, Thomas's temper had a tendency to rage out of control when he didn't get his way."

"Not worse than Paul's, I bet," I murmured.

Carlisle chuckled. "Oh, no. His temper was much worse than Paul's. He and Alec got into an argument over what to do with a human who knew of the vampire world. I believe her name was Cassandra. Alec had come to feel for the young girl and wanted her to be free. At the time, we had another Volturian—Charles—who had the power to wipe someone's memory as much as necessary and Alec wanted to use that to make her forget the existence of vampires. Thomas, however, had different plans. He wanted to torture her to death, make her feel as much pain as possible before her life was taken. Felix and Aro got involved and took Alec's side, making Thomas even angrier. His temper raged and Alec, Felix, and Aro each ended up losing an arm. Though they did get their arms back, Aro was furious with Thomas. He ordered him to leave Italy and never return. Apparently, he didn't exactly follow that order."

Ah, so Thomas had always been a psychopath. That wasn't very surprising.

Jasmine stirred at that moment. I gasped and fell to my knees, my face next to hers.

"Mhm…" she groaned like a sleepy child in the morning, refusing to get up for school. She moved her hand a bit and Carlisle pulled his chair back a bit.

"Jasmine," I sighed as her eyes opened. "My angel."

"Seth?" She looked confused. Her eyes suddenly went wide and I knew she was remembering what had happened.

"Please tell me he's dead!" she shrieked. "Please, please, _please _tell me that psycho is dead!"

I chuckled. "Yes, Jasmine. Yes. I swear to you he will never bother you again."

"Thank goodness," she murmured.

Jasmine tried to prop herself up on one arm but ended up screaming in pain and flopping back down onto her stomach.

"Jasmine! Jasmine, are you okay?" I examined her badly bruised arm.

"Is she okay?" Carlisle asked worriedly.

"I'm fine," she said sweetly. Jasmine smiled apologetically at me.

"You have no clue how good it is to hear your voice again," I sighed.

"I was about to say the same thing," she said, leaning forward with as much strength as she could.

"Don't hurt yourself," I said. She smiled sheepishly at me.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Why are _you_ sorry?" I asked, bewildered.

"Because I put you through that," she said. "I really wish I hadn't. Seth, I'm so sorry!" A tear slid down her cheek and she pressed her lips together to keep her other tears from coming. I smiled slightly and wiped the tear away with my finger. I cupped her face in my hand and stroked her cheek with my thumb.

"Don't be sorry," I whispered.

Jasmine leaned forward slowly. Her lips found mine and her right hand entwined in my hair. My other hand did the same.

"Ahem." Jasper was standing behind us. Jasmine leaned back and blood flushed in her cheeks.

"Hey, Daddy," she giggled. Wow, I'd never heard her sound so much like Alice. They were related, after all.

Jasper chuckled at Jasmine's expression. "I think you should really clean up a bit, Jazzy," he said. Jasmine looked down at herself and saw her blood drenched body for the first time.

"Oops," she murmured. She tried to stand up, but her bruised arms flailed and she landed again on the table, groaning in pain.

"Lemme help," Alice suggested. She scooped her up in one swift movement and carried her up the stairs.

"I see you're still in love with the leech lover, Seth." Leah had just burst through the front door of the Cullen house and was dumping her bag on the white leather sofa.

"Shut up, Leah." I smiled and threw a pillow at her face, ending the conversation.

**Author's Note: Hello everyone. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'm sorry, but I have some very sad news. Someone on Quizilla is claiming my story as their own. If you looked up Jasmine Isabella Cullen on Google, you'd see a link to my story on Quizilla with the creator marked as ****anjumaakachan**. **I am very upset at the moment and I am trying to find something to do about this. I'm not sure if I will continue writing just for someone to steal my chapters as I go. Sorry, but I am putting the story on hold for a while. Please understand that this was the last thing I wanted to do. With all due respect, April~**


	29. Chapter 29

_**Jasmine's Point of View**_

I didn't think it was possible, but I finally got all the dried blood off of my body. I changed into a pair of warm, clean clothes—courtesy of Alice—and started pulling at my hair with a brush. The blood, though rinsed off, had left it with a crunchy, dead feel. Every hard stroke of the brush hurt my head, but I kept going. Alice would never forgive me if I left the bathroom with a tumbleweed on my head.

There was a knock on the open door.

"Knock, knock," Leah joked. She eyed me pulling at the tangles and my hair coming off in the brush. "Need some help?"

I threw the brush down, defeated. "Yes," I groaned.

She giggled at my expression. Coming over to stand beside me, Leah ruffled my hair.

"Don't!" I exclaimed, smacking her hand. "You'll make it worse!"

She laughed again and picked up the brush from where it landed inside the sink.

"Were you trying to scalp yourself?" she asked me.

"Yes, Leah, I'd love to go bald," I said.

Gently, she pulled the brush from my hair's roots to its tips. In less than two minutes, she had my dark curls perfectly untangled.

"Miracle," I murmured.

"Not a miracle," she disagreed. "As long as you don't fight with it, it won't fight with you."

"Thanks, Leah." I turned around and gave her a hug. She returned the favor.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"For what?"

"For making Seth happy." She sighed. "Never before have I ever seen my brother as delighted as he is when he's with you."

"Leah, you're forgetting that he imprinted. He doesn't have a choice. Seth _has_ to love me." Now that I thought about it, the thought bothered me. "If it hadn't been for that, he might not have chosen me."

"But you are forgetting that he already _had_ chosen you," Leah argued. "He told you he loved you before he imprinted. The imprinting only made the bond stronger, even though I didn't think it was possible. Jasmine, Seth would always love you; had he imprinted or not."

I sighed. "Well, I guess we'll never know that for sure, now will we."

"I guess not," Leah said. "But I would bet against Alice that he would have picked you anyways."

"Well, I guess we'll never need to figure that out, now will we?" I said, rather sharply.

I had to admit, the thought bothered me a bit. Would I still have Seth if it hadn't been for the imprinting? Or would he have left me by now to go with a girl that you usually see with guys like him. A tall, pretty, sporty blonde that dressed in designer clothes when she wasn't in her cheerleading uniform? Someone like Rosalie! Yeah, leave it to me to be jealous of my aunt. Maybe not Rosalie exactly, but some girl like her. It seemed like a likely possibility. Seth was handsome, I'd bet he could get any girl he wanted. And yet, as Leah had said, he'd chosen me on his own. He'd felt this was about me before the imprinting kicked in. But would he have changed his mind by now if this was a normal situation?

I entered the door of my room and closed the door. Keeping my eyes on the ground, I sank down to the floor. My breathing started to get heavy and ragged. Is it possible that if Seth wasn't been forced to love me, he wouldn't love me? He'd told me he loved me many times, but aside from the first time, it had always been because he was—in a way—under a spell.

"Jasmine," a voice said, startling me so much that I jumped, "do you need to be alone?"

I looked up to see Renesmee seated firmly on the corner of my bed. She was almost my height now and her bronze curls were so long that she was seated on them. Was it possible that she was growing so quickly? Nessie patted a spot next to her lightly and I stood up—my face flushed with embarrassment at being caught while having a nervous breakdown—and carefully seated myself next to her. I didn't want her to leave but I didn't know what to say.

"Nessie, how do you feel about the fact that Jacob would've killed you if it hadn't been for the imprinting?" Whoa. Where'd that come from?

Renesmee stared at me, her brown eyes larger than usual. "How did you know about that?" she asked.

"I—I don't know," I said truthfully. "It just came out of my mouth." What surprised me more than having said something involuntarily was the fact that it had been a _correct_ statement.

"I—I—" she stuttered. "I'm not sure. I never really thought of it. I suppose it does bother me now that I think about it. But he didn't kill me and he loves me now. I'm sure he would've loved me anyways if he'd had a chance to get to know me," she stated in her defense. "Why do you ask?"

I simply stared at my hands as I toyed with them, clenching them into separate fists then joining them together and making shapes with my fingers. I peeked up through my heavy locks of dark hair and watched as comprehension swept across Nessie's face.

"This is about Seth," she said, scooting a bit closer to me. "You're worried that he wouldn't love you if it wasn't for the imprinting."

I nodded meekly. I bit my lip hard to keep the tears in. Since when was I so emotional? Jeez, it was killing me.

"Jazzy, didn't he say he loved you _before_ that even happened?" As if she had to remind me. I guessed anyone who knew would pull that one first.

"Maybe he would've changed his mind by now," I whispered. "He might've found the perfect girl for him. Someone pretty, popular, someone worthy of him."

Renesmee looked at me like I was insane.

"Have you had a chance to _look_ at yourself during your life, Jazzy?" she asked, incredulously. "You beat some vampires I know when it comes to overall beauty." She leaned forward to whisper in my ear, so low I could barely understand. "If it came down to inner beauty, I'd say you beat Rosalie by thousands of miles."

"I HEARD THAT, NESSIE!" Rosalie screamed from downstairs.

"Like it's not true," she murmured. "Anyway, don't worry about it, Jazzy. He's here now and he loves you now. We'll never be able to sort through all the 'what if's in life so just deal with it!" She smiled a small smile and wrapped her arms around me. "One thing's for sure now," she whispered. "He's not leaving any time soon."

I hugged her back. "Thanks, Ness," I whispered.

"Aw," Alice sighed from the doorway. "How sweet. Two sisters having a little heart to heart." She smiled playfully and dragged me up from the bed. There was only one possibility for what was about to happen now.

"Jazzy," Alice squealed, "let's go shopping!"

I rolled my eyes. Of course.

"Why?" I groaned.

"Jasmine have you had a chance to look at the date lately?"

"Um…" In truth, I hadn't. "It's… um… August, right?"

Alice looked at me like I was crazy. "No… It's September first…"

"September first. All right. Great. I still don't see how this evolves shopping."

"Tomorrow is your first day of school," she informed me.

A light bulb turned on over my head. Now I understood. "School shopping," I murmured. "Great. As if I need any more excuses for you to buy me so many things."

"You may not," Alice sang, "but I do!"

Alice started pulled me out of my room. I turned my head around to be able to see Nessie.

"Come," I whispered. "Please! I need someone rational to be there."

Renesmee snickered. "I don't know," she said playfully.

"Don't make me beg," I groaned.

"Why?" she giggled, grabbing her purse and a thin sweater off my bed. "It might be fun to watch."

"Hurry up!" Alice cried. "We need to get a full eight hours of shopping in!"

Nessie tossed me a black sweater with a hood and I allowed myself to be dragged into Alice's Porshe. We drove for no more than two minutes before we parked in front of the Forks Mall.

"Aw," I said, faking disappointment. "No shopping spree in Paris, Ali?"

"Well," she said, thoughtfully, "if we catch the next flight we might be able to make it back by—"

"Slow your roll," I said, hopping out of the car with Nessie behind me. "I was just kidding."

A look of frustration came over her face. "Of course," she said.

"Let's shop," I said, more enthusiastically.

Alice's face brightened. "Yes," she squealed. "Let's."

Hooking arms with one another, we made our way through the parking lot—avoiding the stares and gasps of surprised people—and walked through the doors of the mall.

**(Well, I was going to stop there, but why stop when I can keep going, right?)**

Well, it was definitely nothing like I'd expected. Stores lined the sides of it and there were fountains and stands going down the middle. Varieties of music blasted out of several of the stores and mixed with the gurgling water of the fountains and the voices of people's conversations in the atmosphere.

For Forks, it was pretty nice.

"Well," Alice said, not finding the beauty in it that I did, "it's no shopping spree in Paris, but it'll do."

I played Alice's doll for the rest of the day as she dragged me to every store and made me try on every outfit and every shoe.

"Alice," I whined, "can we go home yet?"

"Not yet!" she declared as she handed a clear card to a cashier at a store called _Rave_. "We haven't even been to the left side of the mall yet!"

"The… left… side…" Great. Just great.

Alice and Nessie walked out of the store quickly and gracefully with bags filling their hands. I walked slower with my hood on behind them. There was a girl turned around talking to some friends and—just my luck—I bumped into her.

"Excuse me," I said politely. She turned around and I gasped.

Her blonde hair was pin straight. She was tall and slim with the type of body cheerleader stereotypes had. She wore white sunglasses on her head and a red mini dress with sparkles that brought out her ruby red lips and sky blue eyes. It was exactly the type of girl I'd imagined Seth might be able to have.

Instead of saying something like "Oh, it's okay," and turning back to continue her conversation, she smirked and said, "Well, would you look what the cat dragged in."

One of her friends—a tall red head—snickered. The other, a Vietnamese girl, remained silent and sipped the smoothie in her hands.

"Someone could use some makeup," she smiled.

"And some serious highlights," her red headed friend volunteered, picking up a lock of my hair and throwing it back down again like it were some piece of trash.

"Tiffany, Asia, cut it out," the other said, putting a hand on their shoulders as she said their name. The one name Tiffany—the blonde one—brushed her away and Asia did the same.

"Butt out, Jade," Tiffany sneered.

"I will not butt out," she said indignantly. Tiffany and Asia stared at her, angrily.

"If you're so eager to protect your little friend," Linda smirked, "then leave. You both are just trash, now aren't you?"

Jade stood in front of me protectively. "Fine, then," she said. "We'll leave." She took my arm and started pulling me in the direction Alice and Nessie had gone.

"Thank you," I whispered.

"No problem," she said. "I'm tired of getting pushed around by those two anyway."

"I'm sorry you don't have better friends," I said.

She shrugged. "It's no big deal. I'm used to being by myself."

"Jasmine!" Renesmee called, running up to me. "Alice and I caught what happened back there. Jeez, rudeness much?"

"It might do her some good to have me knock some sense into her right about now," Alice murmured.

I turned to catch Jade's expression as she took in Alice and Nessie. Her eyes were wide and her mouth had dropped open.

"Jade," I said, "this is Renesmee Cullen, my cousin."

"Nice to meet you!" Nessie said, taking Jade's hand and shaking it lightly.

"Hello, Renesmee," Jade said, recovering from the shock but still shocked nonetheless.

"Please, call me Nessie."

"And this is Alice Cullen," I said, gesturing toward her, "my…"

"Aunt," she completed. Bounding forward, Alice took Jade's hand and gave her a one armed hug while pecking one cheek. "Nice to meet you, Jade."

As Alice retreated her hand, Jade stared at it incredulously, probably wondering why it was so cold.

"And we haven't been correctly introduced," I said, holding out my own hand. She seemed relieved to take mine, probably thinking that it seemed a lot more normal than Alice or Nessie's pale, glistening hands. "I'm Jasmine Cullen."

"Jade Hoang," she said, taking my hand and seeming relieved at feeling a perfectly normal human temperature. "Nice to meet you." She smiled a beautiful, bright, delighted smile and I knew she meant it. It was only then that I really got a good look at my new—can you believe it?—friend.

Her slightly curled red hair cascaded down her back and to her waist like a waterfall. Her slim body was about four inches shorter than mine. Her almond shaped eyes were beautiful and dark—almost black, but when the light hit them, you could tell they were brown. She wore designer clothes just like her "friends" had, but they were much more subtle. Just a dark denim skirt and an aqua shirt with bell-like sleeved. A diamond necklace hung from her neck.

"Would you like to come shopping with us?" Alice asked in her usual perky voice.

"How I would love you," Jade answered, "but I haven't a cent on me."

"Not a problem," Alice decided. "We'll get you anything you'd like."

While the offer struck a glisten to her eyes, Jade shook her head. "I wouldn't want to impose."

"Oh it's no problem!" Nessie chimed in. "We have enough to spare."

Jade shot me a questioning look and I smiled and nodded in encouragement.

"All right," she said, taking a last sip of her smoothie before tossing it into a trash can next to her.

"Let's shop then," I said. Alice and Nessie burst into some girly giggles over something they'd been talking about before. I was about to start following their parade, but Jade turned to look at me.

"Thank you," she said, smiling, but I saw the seriousness behind her face. "Really."

"It's no problem," I said. "And you'll get used to Alice. Eventually. Shopping is the only thing she likes to do."

Jade giggled. "I think I can get used to that."

We exchanged another smile and made our way at a calmer, more human pace as we followed Alice and Renesmee's path.

**Author's Note: Hey everyone! Yes, I got the entire thing mentioned in last chapter's A/N sorted out. It was all really a huge misunderstanding. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter and the new characters introduced in it. This is so definitely not the last you'll see of Jade, Asia, or Tiffany. Especially not Jade, I'll tell you that much. I've decided to make Jasmine's story into parts (part 1, part 2) to avoid my own confusion and yours. Originally, I wasn't gonna stop until I got 100 reviews. My writing, though, clearly isn't good enough to get that many. xD I have big things planned for part two! (and part three, for that matter. Yes, I said part three.) Thanks so very much for reading everyone! Forever be awesome, April~**


	30. Chapter 30

"So what, I bet you think we're a bunch of snobby rich girls, right?" I asked Jade as we sat down on a bench inside the mall. Alice and Nessie had ditched us a while earlier, they went to go "explore more stores." Truth is, they haven't hunted in weeks.

"No, no," she said. "I had so much fun. You're really the nicest people I've ever met."

"Really?" I asked, surprised. "You should meet the rest of the Cullens," I said.

"The _rest_ of the Cullens?" she asked in shock. "There are more?"

"Yes," I answered. "Carlisle and Esme are basically our parents. Then there's Emmett and Rosalie, Edward and Bella, Jasper, of course."

"Wow," she mouthed. "That's a big family."

"It is," I said. "I couldn't have been happier that they accepted me so easily."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

So I poured out my entire story. Or, the parts I was allowed to say, anyway. I told her about my real parents dying in a fire and all the traces of who I was dying with them. I told her about living at the orphanage, but lied when it came to the technical details.

"No one found a trace of my family members," I said, hating having to lie to Jade. "Carlisle and Esme adopted me when I was… five. I've been living with them ever since and they're the family I'd always wanted."

She nodded with her eyes wide as shfe took in my story. I continued to tell her about meeting Seth—minus the werewolf and imprinting facts—and gradually starting to love him.

"That's…amazing," she said when I was finished. "It's like a fairytale."

"Not when you look at it from my perspective, it isn't," I murmured."So tell me about your family," I insisted in an attempt to drag the conversation away from me. "What happened to your dad?" Wait! How did I know that? Why did I suddenly see behind the lids of my eyes a young girl—about eight years old—that looked like Jade hiding under a kitchen table, crying? Why was I seeing a man dressed in a military uniform bend down and kiss her red cheek? Why did I see him stand up and hug a woman that must have been his wife and kiss her sadly but passionately on the lips? Why could I see him walking out of the door of a perfectly nice house with people he loved inside? Why did I see him years later on a battlefield getting… getting shot? And most importantly, why was I tapping into Jade's past?!

She stared at me with large eyes. "How did you know that?"

And how _did_ I know that? The same thing had happened with Renesmee earlier.

"I don't know," I said truthfully. "I just said it."

And sure enough, tears came to her eyes and she explained her story. Of course, I had to be right. Her father had gone to war when she was a little girl. Sadly, he'd never come home. She and her mother were still in mourning for him. When she was done, her eyes were puffy and red. I leaned forward to hug her softly.

"I don't know—why it—happened," she said through tears. "Why—why did—why was he taken from us?"

"I'm sorry," I whispered. I hated pulling the scab off of her old wounds, letting them bleed again. "You probably hate me now."

"No, no," she said through her quieting sniffles. "I'm glad I told someone. It makes me feel better."

"He still loves you," I whispered. "You and your mom. He wouldn't want you to be so sad."

"I know, I know," she sighed. "We can't help it, though."

"How I know how that feels," I said.

We sat in silence as the minutes ticked by. The sound of easily recognizable heels started coming closer and closer toward us until Alice and Nessie were standing in front of us. The looks on their faces were completely somber and I guessed Alice had seen it all coming.

Jade scrambled around in her purse to try and hide her tear stained face. I put my hand on hers in a motion for her to stop.

"Don't worry," I said. "They understand."

Jade, though still looking confused, nodded.

"Jade, how about we give you a ride to your place?" Alice asked, the perk that had been lost for a moment returned.

I was about to scold her on being so forward, but Alice would be Alice. She's always doing the right thing.

"That'd be great!" Jade said, jumping up from her seat. "My only other choice would be…" I could see that she really didn't want to say their names.

"Fabulous!" Alice squealed. I knew she knew who Jade was talking about. We started walking toward the exit and I noticed how visibly dark it was outside. Of course it would be cold too. I zipped up my sweater and pulled its hood over my head. I stuffed my hands in the pockets.

Jade's phone vibrated and she pulled it out of her pocket. A calendar event covered her screen. Jade groaned.

"You start school tomorrow, too?" I asked her. "Where?"

"La Push High," she answered.

"Cool," I said. "Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, Edward, Bella, and I start tomorrow, too."

"Oh really? That's great! I can show you around school and—oh, no." I looked ahead of me to see what made her 'oh no.' I instantly saw it. Asia and Tiffany were in the exact same spot they'd been earlier, and they were looking this way.

I saw Tiffany's mouth open to say something, but her eyes darted to Alice standing next to me.

"Alice Cullen!" she exclaimed. I could see by the immediate recognition in her and Asia's eyes that the Cullens were very well know… people here in Forks. "We haven't officially met yet, I'm Tiffany Keller. Some of my Quileute friends invited me to your graduation part last year and it was phenomenal!"

Slowing her pace but not stopping her walking, Alice said the last thing I expected to hear from her.

"Bye, sluts," she said in a polite voice to both Tiffany and Asia.

Leaving them both with their mouths dropped open, the four of us stepped out into the night, laughing as hard as we possible could.

"She wasn't that cool anyway," I heard Asia murmur before the doors closed behind us.

Continuing our laughter and a second by second description of both their facial expressions, we made our way through the parking lot and stopped when we saw the lights of Alice's Porsche go off when she hit the unlock button on her keys. Jade's mouth dropped.

"That's your car?" she asked.

Alice nodded. "It was a Christmas present from two years ago." She opened the door and moved the seat forward for Jade and I to get in. Alice got into the driver's seat and Renesmee rode shot gun.

"Buckle up, everyone," Alice said as she started the normal, human procedures needed when getting ready to drive a car. She even adjusted her mirrors, I was impressed.

I loved the silence that followed. It wasn't awkward, it wasn't sad; it was a perfectly comfortable, happy silence. Somehow, Alice managed to drive _under_ the speed limit the entire time. When we started to see houses, Jade pointed to the left.

"Take a left here,"—which Alice did beautifully—"and it's the third house on the right side of the street."

Alice pulled into the driveway and unlocked the doors. Renesmee got out and pulled the set forward to let Jade out of the car.

"Good night!" she called as the three of us drove away. "See you tomorrow!"

And I found comfort in the fact that I would. Tomorrow would officially be my first day of high school and I couldn't be happier.

Alice finally kicked the car into full gear and sped for miles and one hundred fifty miles and hour. The car made its way through the woods until the Cullen mansion came into full view. Seth was outside to greet us.

"Hey," he said, peering in at me through an open window. He opened the car door to let Nessie and me out. "Alice called. You made a new friend?"

"I did, in fact," I said. "Her name is Jade."

"Oh," Seth said. "That must be Jade Trang." I nodded. "She's a nice girl. I'm glad she's one of your friends. Smart, too. It's a shame to see her get pushed around by—what are their names?—Tiffany and Asia? I think that's it."

"Not any more, she's not," I giggled.

"What did you do?" he asked with a smile on his face. I took his hand and looked up into his eyes.

"Nothing you need to worry about," I said, a smile on my own face, mirroring his.

"I'll take your word on that," he said. Alice and Renesmee had already made their way inside and closed the door behind them. To give us some privacy, I told myself. The porch light, however, was on and I saw a golden eye covered with blonde hair peeking out the window. Jasper. Of course. Two seconds later, I saw a small, pale hand draw him away from the window. I would have to thank Alice for that one later.

"Look at the stars," Seth said, pointing up with our entwined hands. "There's the Archer." He extended my index finger and traced a constellation with my finger. And suddenly, I could see it. I saw the Archer's bow, his arrow pointing toward a lonely star.

"Beautiful," I declared at the view above my head.

"Not as beautiful as you," he said. I lowered our hands and spun to face him.

I threw my arms around his waist and he pulled me even closer to him.

"You have the purest, kindest, most beautiful soul in the world," he whispered.

"As do you," I said. "Seth, I truly love you, and if it's up to me, I will love you for eternity."

"And I'll love you back," he said. "Forever."

"Best words you could say to me," I said.

I stretched onto the tips of my toes to try and reach his lips. Fully extended, I still wasn't tall enough to reach. He ended my struggles and leaned forward to close the distance. He cupped my face in one of his hands while the other remained around my waist and pulled me against him. My hands found their way into his hair as he kissed me, tracing circles on my back.

"I love you," I said to him.

"I know," Seth said with a smile on his face. "By the way," he said, digging around for something in his pocket, "there's something I forgot to give back to you."

He put his hands on my shoulders and spun me to face away from him. He lifted my hair with one hand and put something cold yet comforting around my neck with the other. I looked down to see the seashell necklace I'd left him the day I'd run away to Volterra in order to save the Cullens.

"Now you'll never forget how much I care about you," Seth whispered in my ear, his hands tracing my arms.

"I wouldn't have forgotten anyway," I said.

"Just in case," he said.

I turned around. We were about to start from where we left off, but the front door of the Cullen house opened, revealing the inside light and a stiff Jasper.

"Jasmine," he said, motioning for me to come forward. My cheeks warmed at having been caught, so I walked forward slowly. Seth walked at my side, but kept his distance. I smiled at him and grabbed his hand, Jasper would have to deal with that.

"Yes?" I asked him.

"You should get to sleep," he said. "You wouldn't want to be tired on your first day of school."

"Of course," I said. I gave him a one armed hug and pecked his cheek. "Night," I told him as I pulled Seth into the house, leaving Jasper stiff in the doorway.

"Good night, everyone," I called as we made our way up the stairs.

"'Night," the Cullens called after me.

Seth waited outside my bedroom door as I changed into a pair of soft, lavender pajama pants and a matching A-line spaghetti strap shirt that was fitted at the bust. I walked over to open the door and let Seth in. He'd changed into a pair of red sweatpants and grey muscle shirt.

"Come on in," I said, as he marveled at the sight of me. I didn't understand how he did that. How could he look at me with a sparkle in his eye and a smile on his face that made him look like he'd just won something even better than the lottery? When I mentioned this, Seth chuckled.

"That's because I _have_ won something infinity times better than that," he said. "I've won you."

We lay down on our sides so we were facing the glass wall. Outside, the full moon was casting light shadows on the otherwise dark forest. He pulled the blanket over my body and put one arm around me.

"Promise you'll never leave me," I whispered to him.

"If you think I can leave you willingly for even a moment, you're crazy," he answered. "We have forever."

"I like the sound of that," I said.

"So do I," he whispered.

Seth pecked my cheek lightly and traced my hand with his index finger.

"Sleep, Jasmine," he said. "You've got a long day ahead of you."

"All right," I said. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he said.

I started humming a soft melody and, eventually, I let my eyelids close and I drifted into what had to be the most perfect sleep I'd had in my entire life, my true love at my side.

**Author's Note: I promise to make this one short! I am so excited because this was my ending chapter for part one of Jasmine's story. I don't know when I'll have the first chapter for part two up, but when I do, I'll make sure to let you all know. Also, I'm trying to get a site up where I can put pictures of some of the more important things and people in my story (-cough-Jasmine-cough-). Stay tuned for a much… longer author's note later and a sneak preview of –drum roll- PART 2! Until next time~April**


	31. Epilogue and AN

"Are you ready, Jasmine?" Seth asked as we stood in front of the doors of La Push High School. The Cullens, Leah, and Jacob stood behind us. We'd already dropped Renesmee off at her school and the drive here had been nerve-racking.

"Not at all," I said. "Let's go in."

Seth squeezed my hand, put his arm around me, and pecked me lightly on the lips. "You'll be fine."

He reached out and pushed the door open. As we walked in, a hush came over the student body and all eyes turned to look at us. Moments later, they started whispering. I could only make out two of the words. _Cullen _and _treaty_. Of course. None of them seemed to really believe in the Cullens being vampires—they laughed at one another when that was mentioned—but I could tell that they still looked wary. Oh well, their problem, not mine. I had everything I needed and my life was perfect.

**Teehee, this shall be my awesomely long author's note!  
I wanna take the time to thank all you peoples for reading Jasmine's story!**

**You are all totally, awesomely awesome! I love all you peoples like sooooo much! No, I didn't get the hundred reviews I was hoping to get when I started the story, but I'm close enough! And the truth is, even if I had zero reviews, I would've kept writing cuz I love working with my story just that much. :) I am not giving up on my hundred review dream, though. In the words of Kate from Denali, I am keeping the dream alive. I don't know, maybe new readers will come along and read it and review and I will love them forever if they get me to one hundred reviews. (PS: I still love all you current readers, even without the hundred reviews! ;D)**

**So yeah, part two is going to be awesome! And I gots me an awesome name for it! Part two is called **_**Angel in a Blender. **_**I cannot wait to post it! Even though I'm going to post the first chapter like… two seconds after I post this message (-gasp- you should go read it!) :-P Unless I get caught up in something else. Teehee… Rest assured I am not easily distracte—ooh! Look! Shiny bouncing ball! –runs after it-**

**-comes back an hour later- Ahem… uh… :-D Oh yeah, so, I went all out the other day and collected pictures of every outfit, every pair of shoes, and every person I thought was important from this story. Yes, even Jasmine! I found the perfect girl to be her! Pictures of the "cast" include Jasmine, Thomas, Seth, Renesmee, and Jade. I didn't put pics of the other Cullens because I'm sure you've all seen the actual cast and those people are my ideal Cullens. When I get a suitable site layout for the website I will put the pictures on, I'll post the link in a chapter and on my profile.**

**Oh… And I'm not allowed to have an entire chapter be an author's note, am I? Hm… Well, how does a sneak peek of part two sound? Since I can't exactly get a reply to that question, I'll just give it to you guys anyway. So, here it is, a preview of a random chapter in part two! Drum roll, please!**

_I stared at the still clenched fist that rested at my side. Did I really just do that? That was so… unlike me. But, really, he'd had it coming! The bleeding had stopped by now, but the once flowing blood had stained the ground beneath my victim where he laid, unconscious, but alive… I hoped._

"_Seth," I whispered to myself. "Seth!" I called louder. He came out of the woods but seconds later only in sweatpants. I imagined he'd been running. I turned around and saw Seth smile at me and then look to my side and saw what I'd done. _

"_What happened?" he asked, running up to my side._

"_He had it coming," I murmured. _

**Ha, that'll be like… my favorite chapter in part two. That's right, I finally have a story line! –dances- So thanks again for reading **_**Jasmine Isabella Cullen**_** and for all the amazing encouragement you guys have given me since September when I started writing. You will all be forever made of purely awesome AWESOME!**

**See you guys soon! ~April**


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